BRAISED & MALA
Szechuan Mala Noodle Soup
A numbing-spicy bone broth base for hot pot, malatang, and Szechuan-style soups, built on doubanjiang, dried chilies, and Szechuan peppercorns.
Use pork bone broth or beef bone broth as foundational broth. The layered work is frying and blooming the mala paste and infusing the stock you already have.
Ingredients
- 2.5–3 L pork bone broth or beef bone broth
- 44 mL doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste)
- 20–30 dried facing heaven chilies (to taste)
- 15 mL Szechuan peppercorns, toasted
- 1 onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic; 1 knob ginger, sliced
- 30 mL neutral oil for frying paste
Method
- Warm the bone broth in its pot; keep it below a hard boil while you bloom spices.
- In a separate pan, fry doubanjiang in oil until fragrant; add chilies and peppercorns briefly.
- Scrape the spice mixture into the broth; add onion, garlic, and ginger; simmer 30–60 minutes.
- Strain; adjust salt and heat. Dilute for hot pot or reduce for dipping.
- Store oil cap separately if you want a cleaner soup the next day.