Fuchsia Dunlop’s sour-and-hot sweet potato noodles (suanla fen)

This beautiful snack is easy to make. Dried sweet potato noodles can be found in Chinese supermarkets around the world, but in the streets behind Chengdu, you can still see them made from scratch.

Serve 2
Dried sweet potato noodles 400g (available online)
2 tablespoons raw peanuts
enough cooking oil to fry peanuts
Stewed chicken 1 liter
2 beans cowpea
2 tablespoons green onion, sliced ​​thinly
zhacai (preserved radish) 2 tbsp, finely chopped
2 tablespoons celery chopped

For the spice
garlic 2 tsp, finely chopped
Sichuan roasted pepper seeds, or 1 teaspoon of Sichuan pepper oil
salt spoon
Chinkiang vinegar 4 teaspoons
Light soy sauce 1 tbsp
Black soy sauce teaspoon
Chilli oil 3-4 tablespoons, plus 1 tbsp of sediment
melted lard 2 teaspoons (optional)

Cover the noodles with cold water and soak overnight. (You can soak them in warm water for just a few minutes - but when it's cold, they're less likely to disintegrate.)

Put peanuts in a pan and cover with cooking oil. Heat slowly to 120C-130C, at that time, the oil should be blown gently around the nut. Fry them at this temperature for about 20 minutes, taking care not to overheat the oil. When they are done, the nuts should be crispy and fragrant, with light yellow color and a delicious flavor. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain and spread out a paper sheet to cool completely.

Bring the water to a boil. Divide all spices between two serving bowls.

Blanch the beans in a hot storage, then remove with a spoon and divide them between the bowls, adding about 100ml of stock to each.

Drain the noodles, add to boiling water and soak for a few seconds until slippery, soft and transparent. Remove noodles with chopsticks or long cooking tongs and a slotted spoon and divide between bowls.

Sprinkle on the remaining ingredients and serve.

MW