This a recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's,
"Shark's Fin & Sichuan Pepper - A sweet-sour memoir of eating in China"
A really good read by the way.
Ingredients
200 grams dried Chinese flour-and-water noodles
For the meat topping:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 Sichuanese dried chiles (if you can't find, substitute small red chiles of your choice), cut in half, seeds discarded
1/2 teaspoon whole Sichuan
25 grams (1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons) Sichuanese ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetable (available at Asian groceries -- ya cai is pickled bean sprouts)
100 grams ground beef
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
salt to taste
Optional: 1/4 Cup of green beans chopped into 2cm pieces
For the sauce:
1/2 teaspoon ground roatsed Sichuan pepper
2 tablespoons sesame paste (tahini is a great substitute)
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons chili oil, plus sediment from jar, if possible
Method
1. Heat peanut oil in a wok over moderate heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add chiles and Sichuan pepper and stirfry briefly until oil is spicy and fragrant. Be careful not to burn spices.
Add pickled vegetables and continue to stir fry until hot and fragrant. Add meat and soy sauce and cook meat until brown and crisp, but not too dry. Add green beans (if using) and toss with meat, coating with seasonings. Season with salt to taste. Remove from heat.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine all sauce ingredients. Either portion sauce among individual serving bowls or into one large bowl.
3. Cook noodles according to instructions on the package. Drain cooked noodles and combine with sauce, followed by meat mixture. With chopsticks, mix noodels so that sauce and meat are evenly distributed. Serve immediately.
Feeds two for supper, four for a street snack.
Hmmm just found this recipe and a story in the Washinton post -
voices.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2008/05/qa_sichuan_food_expert_fu... [voices.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2008/05/qa_sichuan_food_expert_fu...]