Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Wakaran Hong Kong
      Wakaran Wan Chai
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    Home » Cuisine » Asian » Chinese

    Mala (Spicy and Numbing) Broth for Sichuanese Hot Pot

    Published: Dec 24, 2009 · Modified: Oct 27, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    This post is the fourth part of a mini-series anchored around the following post: A Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia.  The other parts of the series can be found here: Part II (Preparing Filet Mignon for Hot Pots) and Part III (Seryna - Kobe Beef Shabu Shabu).

    _1000700
    Sichuan, China: This was the the first stop of our Culinary Tour of Hot Pots Throughout Asia

    What sets the Sichuan hot pot apart from typical Chinese hot pots is its classic spicy broth, called mala.

    The term "mala" in Chinese literally means Numbingly Spicy.  This wonderfully flavorful, numbingly spicy broth gets its characteristic flavors from Sichuan chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. The chilies give the soup a fiery burn, while the peppercorns have an unusual numbing effect on the tongue.

    _1000666

    I recently tried a home-version of the mala broth based on a recipe by Fuchsia Dunlop from her highly regarded book, Land of Plenty.  Fuchsia Dunlop was the first foreigner to study Sichuanese cooking at the acclaimed Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu, China.

    Warning!  This broth is really spicy and not for the faint of heart (or stomach!).  People with sensitive stomachs probably should not try this.  Also, turn on the vent and open the windows when you prepare this broth. The chilies will smoke a bit when you fry them, and can cause some spicy coughing fits.  I would not recommend preparing this recipe if you have any sort of lung condition.  

    Adapted from Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop

    Ingredients
    ·  ¼ cup fermented black beans
    ·  ⅓ cup Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
    ·  1 chunk fresh ginger, about 3 inches long
    ·  ¼ cup dried Sichuanese chilies, or regular red chilies
    ·  ½ cup peanut or vegetable oil
    ·  ⅔ cup beef drippings or lard
    ·  ½ cup Sichuanese chile bean paste (la doban jiang)
    ·  3 quarts good beef stock
    ·  1 tablespoon rock sugar
    ·  ½ cup Sichuanese fermented glutinous rice wine (optional)
    ·  Salt to taste
    ·  1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns

    Mash the black beans with 1 tablespoon of the Shaoxing wine in a food processor until you have a smooth paste. Wash the ginger and cut it into slices about the thickness of a coin.

    _1000664
    Snip the chilies into one-inch segments and try to remove as many seeds as possible.
    _1000665
    Heat 3 T of vegetable oil over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). [Make sure the fan is on and the windows are open!] Cook the chilies in the hot oil until crisp and fragrant, taking care not to burn them (the oil should sizzle around the chilies).  Make sure they don't start turning black! 
    _1000675
    Once crispy and fragrant, remove the chilies with a wooden spoon.  At this point, the recipe says to add the ⅔ cup beef drippings/lard to the oil until melted.  In an effort to make this more healthy, I omitted this step and just used vegetable oil.

    Once everything is melted, add the hot chili bean paste (la doban jiang) and stir-fry for a minute or so until the oil is richly red and fragrant. This should sizzle gently - take care not to burn it.  You can turn down the heat periodically if you think you are in danger of burning it.  When the oil has reddened, add the mashed black beans and the ginger and continue to stir-fry until they are fragrant. Then pour in about 1 ½ quarts of the stock and bring it to a boil.
    _1000676
    When the liquid has come to a boil, add the rock sugar (or granulated sugar if you don't have rock sugar) and the rest of the Shaoxing rice wine, with the fermented rice wine if you have it, and salt to taste. (Note, I did not have fermented rice wine, so I did not add any of this).

    Finally, add the prepared chilies (the ones you had fried up earlier) and Sichuan peppercorns according to taste and leave the broth to simmer 15-20 minutes, until it is wonderfully spicy.
    _1000698
    I won't lie to you - this broth is REALLY SPICY!  If you aren't used to spicy foods, just be careful!  Don't eat too much!  My digestive system did not react most favorably to this - maybe it was just too spicy for me.  Bryan was fine, but then he usually eats much spicier than I do!  It is very fragrant, and has a lovely blend of different flavors.  I'm sure it would have tasted even better with the lard!

    Serve this in conjunction with a non-spicy broth, as your guests will most likely need to take breaks from the spice!

    Enjoy!

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Chinese

    • Forbidden Duck Causeway Bay
      Forbidden Duck Causeway Bay
    • Liu Yuan Pavilion
      Liu Yuan Pavilion 留園雅敘
    • Taiwanese Pork Stuffed Bitter Melon
    • Instant Pot Chinese Pumpkin Cake [Pressure Cooker] Plus VIDEO!

    Recent Posts

    • Wakaran Wan Chai June 15, 2025
    • Godenya Hong Kong (revisited) June 12, 2025
    • The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star) June 6, 2025
    • Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai June 2, 2025
    • Always Joy Hong Kong May 29, 2025
    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    • Ciccio Yountville May 11, 2025
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California May 8, 2025

    Trackbacks

    1. The best Chinese food in Chiang Mai says:
      December 25, 2021 at 3:58 am

      […] it is a great option for special and festive occasions. At Haidilao you can chose up to four soups. MaLa is an obvious choice and so many choices of did sauces. Then there is all the fun. Here you […]

      Log in to Reply
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco
    • Bodega SF California (Vietnamese)
      Bodega SF (Modern Vietnamese)
    • Tselog Daly City California
      Tselogs (Filipino food) Daly City California

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen