ramyaramesh3007This sichuan-style mala stirfry is what dreams are made of – packed with veggies, protein, and a whole lot of spice and numbingness for that authentic taste.
Mala Xiang Guo has been growing in popularity over the past few years, especially where I live in Singapore. Almost every hawker centre now has this stir fried dish where you can customise the vegetables, proteins and noodles that go in. You can also choose your spice level and add garnishes like cilantro and peanuts if you prefer. Overall, the customisation of the dish ensures anyone and everyone is able to enjoy it and no matter what it’s packed with flavour!
And it’s not just the chillies that flavour this dish – it also includes spices like garlic, sichuan pepper, 5-spice powder and most importantly, hot bean paste. It’s usually shared between 2 to even more than 6 people sometimes with a huge mega dry pot. It’s crazy how much people love eating Mala Xiang Guo as a social experience (myself included!)
In restaurants, there are so many delectable dishes to select from – you can pick your choice of protein, different types of beancurd, and vegetables. There is really no right or wrong way to construct your bowl but generally if it’s just the two of us – were pick around 4-5 dishes in a reasonable quantity.
I used to be so crazy about this dish once that I swore my future partner had to like this dish if not we were just not meant to be – I got lucky that my partner loves it too 😉 However, I always preferred to prepare this dish at home as it was much healthier than ones you find outside (sometimes it’s loaded with oils and you can’t really tell if it’s truly vegan unless it’s a vegetarian place). My favourite vegan mala dry pot has got to be Green On Earth, Rail Mall – you’ve got to try it if you are ever in Singapore!
Ingredients You Need
- sesame oil – toasted sesame oil is a BIG pantry staple for me and we use this as a base oil in this recipe!
- hot bean paste – this is a secret ingredient for that flavour in mala xiang guo. Unfortunately, this paste is not gluten free.
- aromatics – garlic and ginger. You can omit garlic and substitute with hing if you are alliums free.
- chillies – you can customise the number of dried red chillies depending on the spice level you prefer. Medium spice calls for about 4-5 red chili peppers.
- shaoxing wine – you can substitute this with rice wine vinegar or regular white vinegar.
- spices – 5-spice powder and ground sichuan pepper
- sauces – light and dark soy sauces
- vegetables – you can use any veggies you like but I added lotus root, bok choy, fried tofu, oyster mushrooms, beancurd skin and ramen noodles.
Vegan Mala Xiang Guo (Sichuan Mala Drypot)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp hot bean paste
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4-5 dried red chillies deseeded
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- 1.5 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp 5-spice powder
- 1 tsp sichuan pepper
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Toppings
- 8-10 slices lotus root
- 4 bunches bok choy
- 150 g extra firm tofu
- 150 g oyster mushrooms
- beancurd skin
- 2 stalks scallions
- 1 serving ramen
Garnish
- toasted sesame seeds
- chopped cilantro
- chili sesame oil
- 1 serving rice for sharing
Instructions
- Cube tofu and pan fry in olive oil until crispy. Meanwhile heat up some water in a pot, and blanch your greens for a minute, followed by ingredients that take longer to cook like mushrooms and lotus root (2-3 minutes). Take them out.
- Boil your ramen noodles according to package instructions with that same water. Drain and keep the water.
- To a wok, add sesame oil. Add deseeded red chillies, sliced garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add peanuts and saute for a minute. Add ginger paste and saute for a few seconds.
- Add hot bean paste, shaoxing wine, soy sauces, 5-spice and sichuan pepper. Mix well and add some of the noodle water to loosen the sauce.
- Let the spices cook for a minute. Add in your mushrooms, lotus root, beancurd skin and chopped scallions. Give it a good mix.
- Then add ramen, fried tofu and blanched bok choy. Toss and give that a good mix.
- Serve with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro. Enjoy!