Heard from a friend that Szechuan peppercorns can heightened the aroma of Kung Po dishes, hence been using this method whenever I am intending to go for anything spicy. And yes, I do love the extra aroma that results from it. What I will usually do is to saute the peppercorns in some oil to bring out the fragrance of it before draining it away and proceeding with the rest of the cooking. In this way, the dish is infused with the Szechuan peppercorn fragrance yet not overly concentrated to the extent of cooking 麻辣.
But blame it on the almost everyday raining weather !! It makes people feeling hungry more often than usual and craving for anything but a lot and alot of spice ! I can even have my fried rice with chili padi alone now !
And if you need, I do have other varieties of Kung Po dishes on the blog and that includes the chicken here and frog legs here. I enjoyed the spiciness and the tad of sweetness in this seafood dish and just felt regretful that I did not cooked more to satisfy the hunger pangs !! Kung Po dishes are a good fit with rice and for anyone who loves the spicy twist.
Simple home cooked affairs like such dishes are what I adored in the household, especially after a day’s of tiring work. And another so plus point about such dish is that, you do not typically need any prior marinating in advance. Simply prepare and cook and you are off to a good meal in no time.
And if you are really busy to afford the time for groceries shopping like myself or dreading the task to lug back heavy groceries in the wet weather, grab your fresh ingredients and seafood from PurelyFresh online that will deliver right to your doorstep at no hassle !!
Hope you will enjoy this appetisingly spicy dish as much as I do !!
- 2 pcs of squids, scalded (refer to steps below)
- 12 pcs dried chilies
- 2 tsp szechuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 5 slices of ginger
- ¾ tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 tsp dark soya sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 50ml water
- 1½ tsp corn flour + 2 tbsp water
Clean the squids well and make criss cross pattern in the interior of the squids before slicing into smaller pieces.
Heat up a pot of water till boiling. Add in the sliced squids and once the squids rolled up, off the heat and drain away the water.
Heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a deep frying pan. Add in the szechuan peppercorns and saute till aromatic. Drain away the peppercorns.
Add in the minced garlic, ginger and dried chilies respectively and stir fried till fragrant.
Add in the squids from Step 2 and the seasoning sauce. Stir briefly to mix well.
Add in the thickening solution and allow the sauce to simmer slightly till it thickens.
Stir well to mix the sauce all over the squids and off the flame.
Garnish as desired and serve hot with rice.
