any attempts to recreate the lao sze chuan cabbage 'amuse'?

i'm living in kansas city and seriously jonesing. anyone have any recipes?

I suppose you could make it *or* you can just buy it at any well-stocked pan-Asian market; it's typical to find several varieties with varying ratios of sesame oil/chile-soybean oil/sugar sold in clear glass jars.

i've tried that stuff many many times and it doesn't come close to closing the gap. i just got back from chicago and finished my last containersworth...

belgepunk wrote:i've tried that stuff many many times and it doesn't come close to closing the gap. i just got back from chicago and finished my last containersworth...

hmm...flavorwise I've long bet LSC doesn't make theirs in-house

I mean, why bother when a bottle(or vat) is cheaper(and tastes decent enough to my palate anyway) than DIY? Sichuan cooking(I hesitate to extrapolate to other Chinese cuisines tho' I bet they perform similarly) relies heavily on prepackaged sauces and condiments---admittedly remixed and adjusted on the fly---(just check out Dunlop's seminal tome...which I cook from with frequency).

But, I think my original comment gave you the basics anyway: salt/soybean oil and/or chile oil(at it's most reductive level made from soybean oil, sichuan peppercorn, dry-fried dry red chiles)/sesame oil/ fresh cabbage and/or bamboo shoots...

mix and let marinate in a cool, dark pantry(or fridge?)

Christopher Gordon wrote:

belgepunk wrote:i've tried that stuff many many times and it doesn't come close to closing the gap. i just got back from chicago and finished my last containersworth...

hmm...flavorwise I've long bet LSC doesn't make theirs in-house

My guess has always been that they do, since the texture is so variable. Some days it just tastes like fresh cabbage dressed in chile oil, other days it seems like it has cured longer. Or maybe I could just be imagining it.

Either way, CG is right on: cabbage + chile oil + time.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:My guess has always been that they do, since the texture is so variable. Some days it just tastes like fresh cabbage dressed in chile oil, other days it seems like it has cured longer. Or maybe I could just be imagining it.

If you're imagining it, so am I. I've noticed it many times. I tend to prefer the younger but not too young cabbage, where it's still crunchy but a has good heat.

gleam wrote:

eatchicago wrote:My guess has always been that they do, since the texture is so variable. Some days it just tastes like fresh cabbage dressed in chile oil, other days it seems like it has cured longer. Or maybe I could just be imagining it.

If you're imagining it, so am I. I've noticed it many times. I tend to prefer the younger but not too young cabbage, where it's still crunchy but a has good heat.

I haven't noticed freshness vs. cured-ness so much as varying levels of chile heat...regardless, I look forward to it and have felt a definite malaise in my gut when the waitress takes her time bringing it out...