Sichuan Hotpot!

• For Aged-spicy paste (adjust to your own spiciness)
• 3 tbsp Sichuan Spicy Bean Paste
• 5 Dried chili, soaked until soft.
• 1 tbsp Chinese Black Bean
• 4 slice Ginger, 4 glove Garlic
• 1/2 cup Cooking Wine
• 1tbsp Rock Sugar
• Dry Spices: 3 star anise, 1tbsp Sichuan Peppercorn, 1 black cardamom, 4 green cardamom, 2 sand ginger, 1 piece cinnamon stick, 3 slice liquorice, and 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• For the stock
• 2 lb Beef or Pork or Chicken bones.
• 3 slice Ginger
• 2 Scallion
• 3 Bay leaf
• 1 gallon water

1. Prep Time: 30 hours
2. Cook Time: 3 hours
3. Serving Size: 4-6
4. Ingredients
5. Instructions
6. 1.Make the base stock by combining beef or pork bones or chicken skeleton with water, ginger, scallion, bay leaves. Broil and simmer for 3 hours. Can be made in advance.
7. 2.The aged spicy paste is the soul of Sichuan hot pot (and is guarded by restaurant owners as top secret but today you'll get it for free ?). I recommend making this in advance. To make the aged-spicy paste: chop the Sichuan Spicy Bean Paste, soaked dry chili, ginger, garlic, and black bean. Combine 4 tbsp of oil and all the chopped ingredients, cook in low heat for 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Add the rest of the dry spices and cooking wine and sugar to the paste. Continue to cook in low heat for another 30 minutes then turn off the heat. This is your aged-spicy taste and can be made in advance.
8. 3.Before serving the hot pot, combine the aged-spicy paste with base stock and bring to boil. Add additional ginger, dried chili, and salt to taste.
9. 4.To make the special peanut butter sesame dipping sauce, combine the peanut butter, sesame paste, and fermented bean curd. Mix into a paste. Add oyster sauce, sugar, chopped chive flower and mix well.
10. Notes
11. The recipe is for half of a 12 inch special pot. Adjust the amount accordingly.

adjust, chili, chinese black bean, cooking wine, sugar, anise, stock, beef, scallion

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/sichuan-hotpot-52577011 (may not work)