The Unobtainable Beef Lao Gan Ma

The best Lao Gan Ma that you (probably) can't buy is a beef and douchi Lao Gan Ma - it's simply fantastic over white rice.

0:00 - The Unobtainable Lao Gan Ma
0:34 - Why is it illegal to import?
2:05 - Some background on Guizhou-style Chili Oils
3:15 - Homemade Lao Gan Ma Beef, Fresh Chili Method
7:43 - Homemade Lao Gan Ma Beef, Easy Method
8:50 - Outro

SOURCING

Ok, so the Sichuan style Douchi that we were talking about in the video can be found here:

https://themalamarket.com/collections/regional-chinese-sauces-pickles/products/fermented-black-beans-douchi

Chatted with Taylor and she'll also have a promo code for these - "DOUCHI", where you can get 25% off that product. The promo code *should* be live right now, but if it's not (there was a miscommunication over email that was totally my fault) it should be within the next day or so.

Note that we don't have an affiliate agreement with Mala Market or anything (they're a small company).

FRESH CHILI METHOD

* Fresh, red chilis, 400g
* Salt, to purge, ~1/2 tsp
* Douchi a.k.a. Chinese fermented black soybeans (), 80g
* Hot, boiled water, to soak the douchi, ~1.5 tbsp
* Whole Sichuan peppercorns (), 2 tsp
* Ground Beef, 150g
* Marinade for the beef: salt, 1/2 tsp; Sichuan pepper powder (), 1/2 tsp, white pepper powder (), 1/4 tsp; soy sauce (), 1 tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (/), 1 tsp
* Oil to fry (preferably Sichuan caiziyou or Indian mustard seed oil, Peanut is ok), 1 cup
* Aromatics: garlic, 8 cloves, smashed; ginger, ~1 inch, smashed; onion, ~1/4 cut into slices
* Red fragrant chili powder (e.g. kashmiri or gochugaru or ), ~1.5 tbsp
* Seasoning: MSG (), 1 tsp; sugar, 1 tsp; salt, 1/2 tsp; chicken bouillon powder (), 1/2 tsp

Wash the chilis and slice them in half. De-rib and de-seed (not obsessively). Place under the sun in a strainer for ~30 minutes, or until *mostly* dry (alternatively, you can pat with paper towels or use a salad spinner). Finely mince the chilis.

Rinse the douchi, then soak with the hot, boiled water. Covered, ~30 minutes or so (do not exceed two hours of soaking).

Toast the Sichuan peppercorns for ~3 minutes over medium low heat, or until they begin slightly lose color and leave small oil splotches on your pan. Pound or grind into a powder.

Marinate the beef.

To make the oil, first fry the aromatics over a medium flame. Once golden brown, ~8 minutes, strain out the aromatics. Add the oil back to the pot.

Over a medium-high flame, fry the marinated beef until it's crisp and the fat's rendered out, ~6 minutes. Strain and reserve the crispy beef. Add the oil back to the pot.

Over a medium-low flame, add the minced chilis. Patiently fry the chilis until they lose their moisture and are *just* starting to turn crimson. You can up to a medium flame if the process is taking a long time, but do be careful as you do not want your chilis to get too scorched. This took about ~12 minutes for us on our stove.

Add in the chili powder and the soaked douchi. Fry for about a minute or two, or until the moisture from the douchi has evaporated away. Shut off the heat. Add in the beef, the Sichuan peppercorn powder, and the seasoning.

Best one day later.

EASY HOMEMADE METHOD

* Red fragrant chili powder (e.g. kashmiri or gochugaru or ), 2 tbsp
* Baijiu () -or vodka -or water, to soak, ~2 tbsp
* Whole Sichuan peppercorns (), 1 tsp
* Ground Beef, 75g
* Marinade for the beef: salt, 1/4 tsp; Sichuan pepper powder (), 1/4 tsp, white pepper powder (), 1/8 tsp; soy sauce (), 1/2 tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (/), 1/2 tsp
* Oil to fry (preferably Sichuan caiziyou or Indian mustard seed oil, Peanut is ok), 1/4 cup
* Aromatics: garlic, 4 cloves, smashed; ginger, ~1/2 inch, smashed; onion, ~1/8 cut into slices
* Lao Gan Ma Black Bean Chili (), 1/4 cup
* Seasoning: MSG (), 1/2 tsp; sugar, 1/2 tsp; salt, 1/4 tsp; chicken bouillon powder (), 1/4 tsp

Soak the chili powder with alcohol or water.

Toast the Sichuan peppercorns for ~3 minutes over medium low heat, or until they begin slightly lose color and leave small oil splotches on your pan. Pound or grind into a powder.

Marinate the beef.

To make the oil, first fry the aromatics over a medium flame. Once golden brown, ~8 minutes, strain out the aromatics. Add the oil back to the pot.

Over a medium-high flame, fry the marinated beef until it's crisp and the fat's rendered out, ~6 minutes. Strain and reserve the crispy beef. Add the oil back to the pot.

Over a medium-low flame, add in the soaked chili powder. Fry for ~1-2 minutes. Add back the beef. Add in the Lao Gan Ma and the seasoning.

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