Spicy Szechuan beef soup (Mala Xiao Mian)

This is one of my all-time favourite dishes. I am excited just writing those lines. Around 10 years ago, I did not know much about Asian cuisine. I was finishing a finance internship in Paris, and we were looking for a cheap, student-friendly place to eat. A foodie friend took us to this new little restaurant called Trois fois plus de piment, specialized in Szechuan cuisine. I ordered a ravioli soup, thought, meh, this is spicy and pungent, not sure I like it. Fast-forward 2 years, I went to South Korea as an exchange student and discovered the beauty of their spicy, fiery cuisine. It was an eye-opener for me, and the starting point of my journey towards Asian cooking, which, itself, is how I begun to cook so much and develop a passion for it. I returned to France with a trained new palate, educated in all things spicy. I went back to Trois fois plus because I was craving some real heat, ordered the right dish this time : their best-seller Spicy Szechuan beef soup. Dang. It was love at first bite. My boyfriend and I kept coming back for it. Soon I started trying to find a recipe for it, but they all seemed off to me. I kept on researching, hoping that one day, I'd be able to make a Trois fois plus copycat. I am so grateful for authentic cooking blogs that developed over the past few years, coming from as far as China, allowing some random French people to discover wonderful foreign cooking secrets. A few months ago, after some long-term research and trial-and-error, my boyfriend tried my latest recipe. I asked, "is it almost as good as Trois fois plus de piment ?". He answered : "No. It is better." I couldn't believe it. Then I tasted myself. And I had rarely been this happy and proud. Mission accomplished.

Spicy Szechuan beef soup - Recipe

I know, this is a long list of ingredients. But you mostly stir everything together, wait for it to cook, and assemble ! If you're not into spicy food though, or if you're looking for an easy weeknight recipe, you want to go for a clearer, more straight-forward broth, such as this beautiful Napa Cabbage soup with shrimps from servedwithrice.com.

Ingredients - Advice & where to find them

Although I thing this dish is worth every effort, I recommend trying it if you are interested in Chinese cooking enough to make a few different national dishes. Indeed, it requires you to a buy a small list of specific pantry items.

• If you're in Paris :
  • you can go to Tang Frères in the 13th (they have other stores in Paris but be careful, some are small, this one is large) or Paris Store in the 10th ;
  • ever since I moved to the 18th, I've been going to XP 16 or Chen Market, but those shops are slightly smaller, especially XP16, and you might not find everything you need. 
• If you're in France :
  • Paris Store has several shops across the country ;
  • you can also order online ! There are several online Asian websites you can order from.
• For my foreign friends : I bet you can easily find some Asian shops around you or online, but if you can't, message me with your location and I will try to find it for you !

Ingredients - What the hell are those

• Suì mǐ yá cài, or yá cài : pickled mustard greens with a salty and pungent flavour. It uses the upper, thinner part of mustard leaf stems."Suì mǐ" ("crushed rice") refers to the appearence of the pickle, with a vegetable that is thinly minced. "Yá cài" refers to the vegetable name.

I couldn't find it in the store, so I used Zha Cai, which is the lower part of the mustard stem. You can use it as a replacement. You'll have to mince this one. But don't skip it ! It is essential to reach the soup's umami-deep flavour.

• Doubanjiang, or Toban Jan : spicy, salty paste made from fermented beans and soybeans, salt, rice and various spices.
• Shaoxing rice wine : one of the essentials of your Chinese pantry ! This one is darker than your classic rice cooking wine, and has a more complex taste
• Chankiang vinegar (Chinese black vinegar) : another essential if you're cooking Chinese food, or even if you only want to dump your chinese dumplings into the classic soy sauce and chinese vinegar mix. It is made out of glutinous rice, and has a malty, slightly sweet flavour.

Now let's turn your kitchen upside down !