Hunan Guoba sandwich! One of the best street food dishes I've ever tried, and we're excited to finally get you a recipe for it.

0:00 - The Socarrat Sandwich
1:15 - Pan selection
2:11 - Oil selection
2:56 - Soaking the rice
3:54 - A note about stoves
4:32 - Topping 1, Chili Furu
5:20 - Topping 2, Chili Fried Tofu
7:27 - Topping 3, Chili Fried Chili
8:07 - Topping 4, Stir fried Kelp
9:00 - Topping 5, Sesame Fried Chili Flakes
9:36 - Topping 6, Fish Wort or Cilantro
10:08 - Topping 7, Spicy Potato Slivers
11:33 - Making the Sandwich
13:38 - Inventing a "Family Sized" version?
14:48 - Ways to make this dish less intense?

CHILI FRIED TOFU

* Aromatics: Garlic, 2 cloves, minced; Ginger, ~1/2 inch, minced
* Hunan "Chopped Chilis" (剁椒), 1 tbsp
* Dougan -or- super firm tofu (豆干), 150g, diced
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tbsp
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tbsp
* Seasoning: salt, 1/4 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; white pepper (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp

Longyau with ~2 tablespoons oil, and fry the aromatics over a low flame until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Add the "chopped chilis", fry for another minute. Up the flame to high, add in the dougan/tofu. Quick 30 second fry, then swirl the wine over the spatula and around the sides of the wok. Another ~30 second fry, then do the same thing with the soy sauce. Add in the seasoning, mix.

CHILI FRIED CHILI

* Aromatics: Garlic, 1 cloves, minced; Ginger, ~1 cm, minced
* Chili pepper – not too spicy, 150g, diced
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1/2 tbsp
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tbsp
* Seasoning: salt, 1/4 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; white pepper (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp

Longyau with ~1 tablespoons oil, and fry the aromatics over a low flame until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Add in the chilis. Quick 30 second fry, then up the flame to high. Swirl the wine over the spatula and around the sides of the wok. Another ~30 second fry, then do the same thing with the soy sauce. Add in the seasoning, mix.

STIR FRIED KELP

* Dried kelp (海带), 15g
* Aromatics: Garlic, 2 cloves, minced; Ginger, ~1 cm, minced; Hot, fresh chili (朝天椒), one, sliced
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp
* Seasoning: salt, 1/8 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; white pepper (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp
* Toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1/2 tsp

Soak the kelp in cool water for 30 minutes, then thoroughly wash off any sand. To cut, roll it up and slice into ~1/2 cm slivers. Then chop a

Longyau with ~1/2 tablespoon oil, and fry the aromatics over a low flame until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Up the flame to high, add in the dougan/tofu. One minute fry, swirl in the soy sauce. Add in the seasoning, mix, shut off the heat. Drizzle in the sesame oil, mix.

SESAME FRIED CHILI FLAKES

* Oil, 2 tbsp
* Sesame seeds (芝麻), 1 tbsp
* Spicy chili flakes (辣椒碎), 3 tbsp
* Seasoning: salt, 1/4 tsp; sugar, ¼ tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; white pepper (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tsp

Longyau with the 2 tbsp oil. Over a medium low flame, heat the oil until bubbles are just starting to form around a pair of chopsticks, then add in the sesame and chili. Fry for 5-6 minutes, or until the chili flakes have obviously deepened in color. Add in the seasoning, mix, swirl in the soy sauce, mix, heat off.

SPICY POTATO SLIVERS

* Potato, ~450g, peeled
* Aromatics: Garlic, 2 cloves, minced; ~3 dried chilis, sliced
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1/2 tbsp
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tbsp
* Seasoning: salt, 1/2 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; white pepper (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp

Slice the potato into slivers, then thoroughly wash to get off the surface starch. Transfer to a strainer. Blanch the potato for 60 seconds, then strain and shock with cool running water to stop the cooking process.

Longyau with ~2 tablespoons oil, and fry the aromatics over a low flame until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Up the flame to high, add in the potato. Quick 30 second fry, then swirl the wine over the spatula and around the sides of the wok. Another ~30 second fry, then do the same thing with the soy sauce. Add in the seasoning, mix.

MAKING THE SANDWICH

* Long grain sticky rice (长糯米), 65g
* Oil to coat the pan, ~1/2 tbsp (preferably Caiziyou)
* Water, 6 tbsp
* Salt, 1/8 tsp

Wash, then soak the sticky rice with cool water for 7-8 hours (or overnight).

Strain the rice. Oil the pan, then add the strained rice in. Add the water and salt, and cover. Cook over a medium low flame for 15 minutes, changing the pan position around every few minutes or so.

Uncover. The rice should be cooked. Over a medium flame, crisp up the bottom of the rice for ~10 minutes, moving the pan around to help everything crisp evenly.

Toppings:

Furu, fermented beancurd (腐乳) - preferably a chili furu (香辣腐乳) – 1 cube
Sesame fried chili flakes, 1 tsp
Chili fried tofu, 2 tbsp
Chili fried chili, 1 tbsp
Stir fried kelp, 1 tbsp
Fish wort (鱼腥草) or cilantro
Spicy Potato slivers

“FAMILY SIZED” VERSION

This amount will fit into a 14 inch cast iron skillet.

* Long grain sticky rice (长糯米), 210g
* Oil to coat the pan (preferably Caiziyou)
* Water, 1.25 cups
* Salt, 1/2 tsp