Sichuan Bolognese
December 2, 2016

Sichuan Bolognese
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan Peppercorns whole
- 1/2 cup Diced Onion
- 1/2 cup Diced Carrot
- 1/2 cup Diced Celery
- 1/2 cup Diced Cabbage
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 inch Ginger minced
- 5 Thai Chiles sliced
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan Peppercorns ground
- 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Fermented Bean Paste
- 1/4 cup Xiaoxing Wine
- 1 14 ounce can Diced Tomatoes
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
- 7 ounces Tofu diced
- 1 pound Pasta / Noodles preferably a thicker noodle like fettuccine or tagliatelle
- scallions and more chopped chiles for garnish
Instructions
- Place a large heavy bottom pan over high heat. Add in a little vegetable oil. Add in the beef and sear to brown and cook through, making sure to get good color on the meat. Remove from pan.
- Add in the peppercorns and a little extra oil if needed. Cook about 2 minutes to brown the peppercorns and infuse the oil. Remove the peppercorns from the pot, keeping the oil in.
- Add the onion, carrot, celery, and cabbage to the pot and cook about 10 minutes until lightly starting to brown.
- Add in the garlic, ginger, and chiles and cook 3 minutes.
- Add in the ground sichuan pepper and stir to combine.
- Add in the soy sauce, bean paste, and wine and cook 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Next add the tomatoes, and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Finally add the chicken stock and reduce heat to maintain a light simmer.
- Meanwhile bring salted pasta water to a boil. After the meat mixture has reduced and thickened, (maybe like 45 minutes later) add in the tofu and stir well. The tofu should crumble into small tofu balls.
- Drop the pasta and cook till al dente.
- Add the pasta directly to the pan with the sauce along with some of the cooking liquid and stir well.
- Serve and top with scallions and chiles.