Chinese Drinking Food (下酒菜) | Chinese Cooking Demystified

Three drinking foods, for three different alcohols! In this video, we'll teach you (1) Sichuan-style dry-braised beef, a dish to go with Baijiu (2) Plum boiled peanuts, a dish to go with Huangjiu/Shaoxing wine and (3) smashed cucumber salad, a dish to drink on a hot day alongside a cold beer.

0:00 - Wine pairings in China?
1:32 - Spicy Dry Braised Beef
7:10 - Plum Boiled Peanuts
9:44 - Smashed Cucumber
11:32 - Narwal
12:24 - On Portion Sizes

Narwal is here by the way, use the promo code CCD to get 200 bucks off:

https://utm.guru/udjNw

And written recipes are over here on Reddit if you prefer that format:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualChina/comments/n4ayrd/recipes_chinese_drinking_foods_%E4%B8%8B%E9%85%92%E8%8F%9C_oc/

SICHUAN DRY BRAISED BEEF, INGREDIENTS

Note that the 'cooked chili oil' can be swapped with Lao Gan Ma chili crisp in a pinch.

1. Beef shin, 350g-1000g. Boil as big of a batch as you like.

2. For the lushui boiling liquid: 1L water, 3 star anise (八角), 6 bay leaves (香叶), 1 tsp fennel seed (小茴香), 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn (花椒), 3 pieces sand ginger - optional (沙姜), 10g dried chili - erjingtiao (二荆条), cayenne, arbols, etc, 5g spicy dried chili - heaven facing (朝天椒), thai birds eye, etc, 2 inches ginger, 2 inches welsh onion (大葱) -or- one sprig scallion, 3 tbsp salt, 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), 3 tbsp liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒).

3. For the cooked chili oil: 25g of dried chilis, 80g caiziyou (菜籽油) -or- Indian mustard seed oil -or- peanut oil, 1/2 inch ginger, 2 inches welsh onion (大葱) -or- scallion, 1/8 of an onion. For the chilis, Sichuan bullet head chilis (子弹头) are the most authentic, but we used erjingtiao (二荆条). You can use any C Annum chili pepper that's more 'fragrant' than 'spicy' - arbols, kashmiris, etc.

4. To mix, per 100g of beef: 1.5 tbsp soy sauce (生抽), 1 tbsp cooked chili oil from above -or- Lao Gan Ma chili crisp (老干妈香辣脆油辣椒), 2 tsp toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1/8 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder (花椒粉), 1/8 tsp MSG (味精), 30g fried or roasted peanuts, pounded, 10g toasted sesame seeds, 10g scallion slices, 25g chopped cilantro

PROCESS:

Skip steps 5-6 if you're using Lao Gan Ma instead of homemade.

1. Place the beef in the water and bring up to a boil. Skim, if needed.

2. Add all the ingredients from the "for the lushui boiling liquid" above. Turn the heat to low, cover. Braise for 40 minutes, or until a chopstick can poke through it.

3. Remove the beef, let dry and cool down; at least 3-4 hours.

4. Toast your sesame seeds: toast your sesame seeds in a dry wok over a medium-low flame for ~5 minutes or until the seeds begin to turn color. You can also roast in an oven, if that's easier. We recommend doing a big batch and having them handy.

5. Toast and pound the chilis: cut the chilis into sections, toast over low flame until it deepens in color, ~5-7 minutes. Let it cool down, then pound the chilis.

6. Heat the caiziyou/mustard seed oil/peanut oil up until smoking (~220C), then shut off the heat. Once the temp drops down to ~180C, add the aromatics. Low flame, fry aromatics until golden brown. Shut off the heat again, let the oil come down to ~150C. Add in the toasted chili flakes, mix well.

7. Thinly slice your beef, then mix it with the "to mix the beef" ingredients above.

PLUM BOILED PEANUTS, INGREDIENTS

1. Raw/green/fresh peanuts (新鲜花生), 350g. Note that these are UNDRIED peanuts meant for boiling. Most supermarkets won't carry them outside of peanut growing areas (e.g. coastal China, the American south). There are various hacks online for how to boil dry peanuts, but they take will a *long* time.

2. Sodium carbonate (碱面)/kan sui, 1 tsp. For 1L of blanching water.

3. To boil: 1/4 tsp whole clove (丁香), 1/4 tsp fennel seed (小茴香), 4 pieces licorice root (甘草), 20g dried plums (话梅), 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar.

PROCESS:

1. Pop the peanuts, blanch in boiling water together with the sodium carbonate for ~5 minutes. Remove, soak in cool water for ~5 minutes.

2. Put the peanuts in with the 'to boil' ingredients along with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer, then simmer on low for 45 minutes.

3. Soak until you're ready to eat, at least four hours.

SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD, INGREDIENTS

1. Asian cucumber, 1. ~300g

2. Cucumber mix: 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tbsp dark Chinese vinegar (陈醋、香醋), 1/2 tbsp cooked chili oil -or- Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp MSG (味精), 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 sprig cilantro.

PROCESS:

1. Cut, smash, and cut the cucumber into 1 inch pieces.

2. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge (or 15 minutes in the freezer)

3. Mix and serve immediately.

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg​