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1
Bloom the Spices
5 Mins
Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F)
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the doubanjiang and fry for 2 minutes until the oil turns red and the paste smells deeply savoury. Add the dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger and garlic and fry for 1 more minute — the peppercorns should make the air smell citrusy and warm.
Frying the paste first, before any liquid, is what gives mala broth its red oil and its depth.
Done when: The oil is red, the paste is fragrant, and the peppercorns smell citrusy.
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2
Build the Broth
10 Mins
Rolling boil, then simmer, about 100°C (212°F)
Pour in the chicken stock, add the spring onions, star anise, bay leaf and cinnamon, and bring to a rolling boil. Skim off any foam, then turn down to a lively simmer for 10 minutes so the spices infuse. Taste: it should be salty, spicy and numbing in that order — add a pinch of salt only if it needs it.
Taste the broth before the cooking starts: it is the seasoning for everything that goes in after.
Done when: The broth is red with chilli oil, smells of peppercorn, and leaves a gentle tingle on the tongue.
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3
Set the Pot on the Table
3 Mins
Broth at a rolling boil, 100°C (212°F)
Move the pot to a portable burner in the middle of the table and bring it back to a rolling boil. Set out the plates of beef, tofu, vegetables and noodles, the dipping dishes, and a strainer or slotted spoon for each person. The broth must stay bubbling the whole meal — a pot that stops boiling is a pot that stops cooking.
Keep the burner on high: the broth should boil hard enough to cook a slice of beef in under a minute.
Done when: The broth is bubbling hard and the table is set.
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4
Cook in Small Batches
15 Mins
Rolling boil, 100°C (212°F)
Each person cooks their own food in the bubbling broth: beef slices 30–60 seconds until just browned, tofu 3–4 minutes, napa cabbage 2 minutes, enoki 1 minute, lotus root 3–4 minutes until just tender, glass noodles 2–3 minutes. Fish food out with the strainer, dip in sesame oil, and eat. Cook a little at a time — the pot is not a dumping ground.
Thin slices cook in seconds: if the beef is grey all the way through and curling tight, it has been in too long.
Done when: Beef is browned on the outside and still pink in the middle; vegetables are tender but still crisp.
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5
Finish with the Noodles
5 Mins
Rolling boil, 100°C (212°F)
When everyone has had their fill, drop the soaked glass noodles into the broth for the last 2–3 minutes — they drink up all the flavour the meal has built. Ladle them out, divide between bowls with a little broth, and finish the meal.
The noodles go in last because they soak up the broth — put them in early and there is no broth left for anyone else.
Done when: The noodles are soft, glossy and stained red with the broth.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
End the meal with the glass noodles cooked in the broth, and a last ladle of broth in each bowl — by then the broth carries the flavour of everything that was cooked in it, and that is the best part of the pot.
China
35m
