Beef Tallow Hot Pot Base
Chongqing hot pot, also called tripe hot pot or mala hot pot, is one of China’s traditional dining styles.
Ingredients and Tools
- Beef tallow 4500 g
- (salad oil or rapeseed oil) 1000 ml
- Pure lard 500 g
- Douban (Pixian) 1000 g
- Ciba chili 3000 g
- Old ginger (sliced) 250 g
- Scallion (cut into sections) 100 g
- Onion (shredded) 100 g
- Garlic (sliced) 200 g
- Douchi (chopped) (Yongchuan) 10 g
- Doumuzi 140 g
- Red Sichuan pepper 150 g
- Old oil ? whole spices 100 g : whole-form spices 150 g
- Malt powder (meat flavor) 12.5 g
- Baijiu (52%VOL) 150 ml
- Old oil ?? dried chili powder 15 g spices
- Shannai 5 g
- Star anise 10 g
- Caoguo 10 g
- Cinnamon 10 g
- Cloves 5 g
- Fennel seeds 10 g
- Baizhi 10 g
- Long pepper 5 g
- Vanilla 10 g
- Xiangguo 10 g
- Hawthorn 10 g
- Aged tangerine peel 5 g
- Lemongrass 10 g
- Sand ginger 10 g
- White cardamom 10 g
- Bay leaf 10 g Whole spices: put the above ingredients into a grinder and grind to about 4 mm granules for later use. Whole-form spices: wash the above ingredients for later use. Tools
- Grinder
Measurements
- Each batch of ingredients can make 7.5 kg hot pot base/hot pot old oil
Steps
- Place the wok over strong heat (high heat) and add beef tallow, heat to 80% hot (240±10°C), then add old ginger, scallion, onion, garlic (each 100g), fry until dry (absorb off-odors (beef tallow smell)), then remove and discard.
- Add (salad oil || rapeseed oil) and pure lard, wait until the oil temperature drops to 50% hot (150±10°C), then add ciba chili and stir-fry continuously for 5-8 minutes.
- Add douban and fry to loosen, switch to medium-low heat and slow-fry until the residue turns slightly white and sandy (making a rustling sound).
- When the oil looks cherry red, add ginger slices (150g) and garlic (100g), stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
- Add douchi and doumuzi and stir-fry until fragrant, then add red Sichuan pepper and fennel seeds and stir-fry until fragrant.
- (Old oil) At this moment add whole spices.
- Add malt powder and stir to loosen, add baijiu and stir to loosen. As base.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a container, let stand in a low-temperature environment (10-20) for 5 days before use for best results. As old oil.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a container, add dried chili powder, mix well and let sit for 24 hours, waiting to make old oil.
- Pour the base into the pot, add 3/5 boiling water and bring to a boil over high heat (base:2/5 boiling water:3/5).
- After boiling, foam will appear on the surface; skim off the foam.
- Switch to medium-low heat and simmer slowly to extract flavor (about 25-30 minutes), then strain out the residue.
- After oil and water separate in the container, skim off the oil on the surface (scoop out the oil) and transfer to another container.
- Pour the oil skimmed in the previous step back into a clean pot, boil until the water in the oil is cooked off, then remove from heat and transfer to a container; this is hot pot old oil.
Notes
- Warning: Wipe off water droplets on your hands during operation! To avoid water entering the oil pot and causing an explosion! Causing severe burns! If you follow this guide’s process and find issues or improvements, please submit an Issue or Pull request.