WOODLAND FIRE SICHUAN-HUMMUS

WOODLAND FIRE SICHUAN-HUMMUS

“Tonight… LET’S SET THE WORLD
ON FIRE”

I guess… it really isn’t a secret what unnecessary gimmicks I’ve been occupying myself with in the last couple days.  Hello, my  name is Mandy and I’m a theme-aholic.  In fact, I’m a theme-aholic who also happens to be, tech-intolerant.  Like an alcoholic who’s allergic to alcohol, an UV-addict who lives in Seattle, a real human being married to Gwyneth Paltrow…

Well, you get the point. It’s all been very dysfunctional around here.

In fact, last night I was sent into a stress-turbulance so violent it spun me into a cyber-land so barren I never thought I would step a foot into, that is, I was forced to sign up to join a tech-support forum…  A tech-support FORUM.  That’s right, you don’t know what the hell that is because it’s where desperate tech-retards go after they die.  A steel-cold environment where you drop your SOS calls into a vast void and silence, then awaits cyber-ghosts to kindly respond, if ever.  The place was so cold and lonely I could hear the echoes of my helpless keyboard bouncing off the empty cyber-walls.

Can anybody hear meh ~eh ~eh… my new blog-theme isn’t working ~ing ~ng….  Help ~elp ~el…

Yeah, ’tis like that.  But I know what you’re thinking… booooring!!  You were told there’d be woodland fire, not desert-strangulation stories.

I hear.

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As promised, what I ate with these explosively layered sesame shao-bing, I swallowed them with fire.

I’ve always wondered about his… whatever happened to toppings on hummus?  Right, a smooth and creamy hummus is perfect in its own ways without decorations but a slight drizzle of olive oil… just like a good pizza bianca, or a good bowl of thickened chicken soup, or an already twisted form of French toast… I mean, you see where I’m going with this, right?  I’m saying that toppings don’t need no reason! and frankly I think hummus is feeling pretty left out.  But of course, if you are any familiar with our style, you’d know we scuff at predictable stuff like some lemony herby oils.  Right, hummus?  We’re bring sexy back.

How about a nuclear mixture of fatty ground lamb, garlic, ginger, cumin, fennel and whatnots, plus an ambitious dose of firy chili flakes and crushed sichuan peppercorn (yes, we must put this in everything)?  It’ll hurt so good you don’t want it to stop!  In fact, I think I pretty much slathered this sexiness on every starch-form I had on hand for the past three days.

Tonight… (as I awaits cyber-ghosts to answer my call) we’re hungry.  So let’s set the world on fire.

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Serves: 4~6

Toasted sesame sauce is a popular dressing to sichuan hot-pots.  It marries well with all the notes and tones that come with ma-la (numb and spicy) dishes, and so I thought I’d swap the typical Middle Eastern tahini sauce with this darker/toastier version.  If you don’t want to make your toasted sesame paste from scratch, you could mimic the flavour by adding a tbsp of toasted sesame oil to your tahini sauce.  More details on making toasted sesame paste the shao-bing post as well.

Ingredients:

  • Toasted white sesame paste:
    • 79 grams of white sesame
    • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • Hummus:  peeling technique learnt from Smitten Kitchen
    • 2 cans (800 grams) of chickpea
    • The toasted sesame paste from above (approx 1/3 cup)
    • 1 tbsp of lemon juice
    • 1/2 tsp of salt
    • 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper
    • 1/4 cup of water, plus more to adjust
  • Spicy lamb topping:
      • 200 grams of fatty ground lamb
      • 1 tsp of grated ginger
      • 1 clove of garlic, grated
      • 1 tsp of shao-xing wine (or any Chinese cooking wine)
      • 1/2 tsp of soy sauce
      • 1/3 tsp of salt
    • 1 tsp of red sichuan peppercorn
    • 1 tbsp of chili flakes (preferably from sichuan or Korea)
    • 3/4 tsp of ground cumin
    • 1/2 tsp of ground fennel
    • 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper
    • 1/8 tsp of curry powder
    • 3 tbsp of olive oil
    • 2 cloves of garlic, grated
    • 1 tsp of grated ginger
    • 1/4 tsp of sugar

To make the spicy lamb topping:  This can be made hours before hand.  The longer it sits, the better the flavour.

Evenly mix together the fatty ground lamb, grated ginger, grated garlic, shao-xing wine, soy sauce and salt together.  Set aside to marinate for 10 min.  Coarsely grind up the red sichuan peppercorn in a stone mortar, or spice-grinder.  Then mix together with chili flakes, ground cumin, ground fennel, ground white pepper and curry powder.  Set aside.

Heat up 3 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the ground lamb-mixture.  Cook until the lamb is evenly browned (If water starts to release out of the lamb in the beginning, don’t worry.  The moisture will eventually be cooked off), then add the spice-mixture and cook until the chili flakes start to darken in colour, approx 3~4 min.  Add the grated garlic, grated ginger and sugar, cook for a few seconds then turn off the heat completely.

Let it sit at room-temperature for an hour, and warm up slightly in microwave before serving.

To make the toasted sesame paste:  Toast sesame seeds on a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sesames turn golden and brown.  Immediately transfer the sesames into a small grinder, and add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, then blend until a smooth puree/paste forms (it may appear to be too thick in the beginner but it will “liquify” eventually).  Set aside.

To make the hummus:  Drain the liquid from the canned chickpeas and peel off the skin (just a sturdy pinch should do it).  Then add the peeled chickpeas, toasted sesame paste, lemon juice, salt and ground white pepper in a food-processor, and pulse until the chickpeas are ground to a coarse meal-consistency.  With the machine running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 of water and continue blending until the mixture is smoothly pureed.  If the hummus appears to be too thick, add a couple tbsp more of water.

To serve:  Transfer the hummus onto a large plate and pour the spicy lamb topping with all its oil onto the hummus.  You can garnish it with a few sprigs of cilantro or diced scallions.  Serve with pita bread or these sesame shao-bing.

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23 Comments
  • Belinda@themoonblushbaker

    January 23, 2014 at 7:15 PM Reply

    Finally! A hummus the meat eater can be proud of; No wimpy herby mixture of oil here. Am I being too indulgent by saying I normally serve this hummus in a pie case? That way I get the bonus of the pie case to eat later? Not mention if I use this oil… My hunger twitches are coming back.

    I have been one of the forum support things too (damn lazy corporations); 10 minutes in there I had to delete my account and get far, far away from the internet. Who knew people could complain so much?

    PS Your website layout looks fab!

  • Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

    January 23, 2014 at 10:15 PM Reply

    You kill me with recipes like these. I’m totally moving in.

  • cynthia

    January 24, 2014 at 12:23 AM Reply

    Sichuan hummus? Be still, my heart. This recipe and these photos are to-die-for, Mandy. And don’t even get me started on the terror of website themes. I’m convinced I’ll never change mine again. Yours looks fantastic, though :) so after all that panic, job well done!!!!

  • mike

    January 24, 2014 at 1:19 AM Reply

    i’ve been reading your blog for a while now and this is the first recipe I might make. looks great!

  • Quyen

    January 24, 2014 at 1:54 AM Reply

    What a great twist on a classic! Thanks for sharing!
    http://liveitinerantly.com

  • Sophie

    January 24, 2014 at 2:20 AM Reply

    Holy crap, Mandy. This is awesome.

    The new theme looks amazing so I’m sorry it gave you such grief!

    So glad there are bloggers like you that really change things up and offer incredibly interesting new ideas!!

  • Melinda

    January 24, 2014 at 2:58 AM Reply

    The new site is amazing and yes I’ve been a victim of the tech forum as well . . . I feel for you. It’s scary to embrace your full tech-geek.

    Congrats!!!

  • Amy Endemann

    January 24, 2014 at 3:25 AM Reply

    This is the first hummus recipe that might actually win over the boys at the Superbowl party. Great timing!

  • Cindy @ Elgin Harvest

    January 24, 2014 at 9:38 AM Reply

    That looks and sounds absolutely amazing! So happy I found your blog – it is stunning.

  • Chris @ Knead for Food

    January 24, 2014 at 9:50 AM Reply

    Hummus and fatty lamb, two of my favorite things combined into one at last. I really like that you went all the way and even made the tahini. Nothing tastes better than taking the extra steps for greatness. Good job. I’ll remember this for one of my guilty dinner nights.

  • Sarah

    January 24, 2014 at 11:03 PM Reply

    Hi, I came across your site via peegaw @ Tumblr, and I just wanted to say 1) I really enjoy reading (you’re hilarious!) and 2) your recipes look delicious. :Q

  • maya

    January 25, 2014 at 5:49 AM Reply

    definitely going to try making my own tahini now :)

    BTW the real secret ingredient is a pinch of citric acid (yes, the same white powder one uses to clean out one’s teapot). at least that’s what the lebanese-style hummus places here in tel aviv tell me. it gives the hummus the signature ‘tang’ that’s so addictive. try it! (no lemon juice necessary this way. the hummus also keeps better in the fridge).

    IMHO canned-chickpea hummus is totally incomparable with the real stuff: freshly soaked and cooked-till-tender chickpeas. i use a pressure cooker, add a pinch of baking soda to help loosen the skins, and always keep a bunch of ’em in the freezer (along with the cooking liquid, which is the only acceptable liquid to be added into hummus while making it).

    I really do have to say your version looks creamy, delicious, and i would totally gobble it up

    • Mandy L.

      January 25, 2014 at 2:58 PM Reply

      Maya, thanks for all the tips!! I really struggled if I should use fresh chickpeas but my laziness defeated my instinct. I will definitely try it next time! And the pressure-cooker idea is definitely better than 40-minutes of normal cooking time! How can I forget my precious pressure cooker for this….

  • JIll

    January 25, 2014 at 7:06 AM Reply

    Ha! I forgot what I was going to say because an awesome recipe window for a “Zoloft and Xanax Fully Loaded Baguette” just jumped out at me! Love the new site design, Lady!

  • Laura (Blogging Over Thyme)

    January 26, 2014 at 5:50 AM Reply

    This is so stunning!! And sounds absolutely amazing–loving this toppings on hummus idea :)

  • Kevin @ Closet Cooking

    January 26, 2014 at 11:22 PM Reply

    What an awesome take on hummus!

  • samantha

    June 18, 2014 at 10:17 AM Reply

    Made this today and it was soooo addicting! Used black peppercorns since I didn’t have any sichuan peppercorns. I thought the lamb would have enough oil so only included 2 tbs of Olive Oil. It turned out a bit on the dry side so will definitely do 3 tbs oil next time. Had it with homemade pita bread, but can’t wait to make the shao-bing next. Excellent hummus recipe!

  • Rosanne Z

    August 7, 2014 at 4:50 PM Reply

    Hi Mandy,
    I have guests on Sunday and plan to make this dip (among many other things). Could I use ready made Asian sesame paste to cut down on work? If yes how much 80, 90 grams? Thanks

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      August 7, 2014 at 7:05 PM Reply

      Rosanne: yes of course! Just use the equivalent weight, so 80 grams.

  • Rosanne Z

    August 8, 2014 at 12:33 AM Reply

    Thank you.

  • Alex Reynolds

    October 10, 2014 at 3:04 AM Reply

    I made this tonight with the ba da bings (amazing!!) On your ingredients you say 3/4 of cumin. But don’t say tsp or tbsp or similar. What amount is correct? Thanks

  • Ronny

    January 2, 2018 at 5:19 AM Reply

    I made this for our NYE app and people freaked out. This is a delicious recipe.

    I didn’t make my own hummus, and I didn’t have the chile flakes called here so I ended up using 2.5 tsp of generic red pepper flakes. The results were intense and I thought that the heat level was agreeable to a crowd. If it’s just you and you like hot, add more :)

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