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 56 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 78 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