Guoba, crispy rice! There’s a million Guoba dishes in China, but we wanted to focus on two guoba techniques together with two ways to use them up.
0:00 – Rice, but 100% crispy?
0:42 – The Guoba culture in China
2:33 – Method 1, Rectangle Guoba
4:10 – Dish 1, Jerky fried Guoba
5:49 – Method 2, Dome Guoba
7:18 – Dish 2, Guoba smothered with Guizhou Kung Pao
10:54 – Gratuitous crunchy noises
FOR THE SQUARES
Jasmine rice (香米) 100g
Sticky rice (糯米) 35g
Cook the rice according to your rice cooker or your normal rice cooking ration, or a rice to water ratio of 1:1.2.
Once rice is done, take it out and lay it in an 8-inch baking tray, use a *silicon* spatula to press it down to a relatively firm piece. If your spatula is sticking to the rice, lightly oil it.
Cut 5 lines each way to create 25 pieces. When it’s down to room temperature, put it in the fridge uncover to dry up, preferably overnight (up to 2-3 days in the fridge).
Next day, take out the pieces on to a plate for easier maneuver, the dried up sides facing down.
Heat some oil up to 175C, and slide in the guoba. Let it fry till it can slide around like one big pancake. Then flip and fry the other side till it also hardens up. Then flip again, fry till both sides are lightly golden brown, break up the pieces along the way, then drain and out.
FOR THE GUOBA FRIED GANBA
Beef jerky (牛干巴/牛肉干), 80g
Guoba from above
Spicy dry chili (小米辣/朝天椒) 5-6 pcs
Huajiao Sichuan peppercorn (花椒) 1/2 tsp
Garlic 3 cloves
Ginger 1 inch
Soy sauce (生抽) 1/2 tbsp
Seasoning:
* Salt 1/4 tsp
* Sugar 1/4 tsp
* Sichuan pepper powder (花椒粉) 1/4 tsp
* MSG 1/8 tsp
Heat about 1-inch of oil to 150C. Toss in the beef jerky and give it a quick 30-45 second fry, than strain and out.
To stir fry, leave about 1/2 tbsp oil in wok, add in garlic and ginger, fry on low heat, then in with the chili and Sichuan peppercorn kernels, fry till fragrant.
Toss in the beef jerky, mix, then guoba in and mix. Swirl in the soy sauce, mix. Heat off and sprinkle in the rest of the seasoning, mix and out.
DOME GUOBA
Jasmine rice (香米/粘米) 150g
Sticky rice (糯米) 50g
Cook the rice as usual, or use a rice to water ratio of 1:1.2. Once the rice is done, toss it in a lightly oiled wok.
Use a nonstick spatula to press the rice into a rough pancake. Then press the edge to firm it up. Then start from the center to press it down so that the pancake can expand outward. Go back to the edge to firm up and then press from the center outward, repeat the process till you have something that’s about 22-24cm in diameter.
Add in ~3 tbsp oil, heat on medium low, tilt the wok and fry the edge to firm it up. Tilt and swirl the wok till the outside ring is nice and firm.
Then add in about 1/2 cup oil, turn heat to medium high, start frying the whole guoba.
Slightly tilt the wok, aiming for the center and the side, fry for about 1 minute, then swirl and fry till the whole guoba hardens up. Then set aside.
GUIZHOU KUNG PAO
Ciba Chili Paste
* Red fragrant chilis (二荆条), 20g
* Hot, spicy chilis (小米辣), 5g
* Garlic, 1-2 cloves
* Ginger, 1cm
Chicken thigh, 375g, diced into 1cm cubes
Marinade:
* Salt, ½ tsp
* Sugar, 1 tsp
* Cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp
* White pepper (白胡椒粉), ~1/8 tsp
* Soy sauce (生抽), ½ tsp
* Dark soy sauce (老抽), ¼ tsp
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tsp
* Egg white, ~1/2 egg
* Oil, ~1/2 tbsp
Oil to fry (preferably caiziyou, 菜籽油), 4-5 tbsp
Ciba chili paste from above, ¼ cup
Aromatics:
* Garlic, 3 cloves, sliced
* Ginger, ~1 inch, sliced
* Green garlic (蒜苗), ~3 stalks, white and green separated. White slightly crushed, greens cut into 1 inch pieces
* Spicy dried chilis (小米辣), ~4, halved
Tianmianjiang aka Sweet bean paste (甜面酱), ¼ tsp
Baijiu (白酒) or Shaoxing wine (料酒), 1 tbsp
Sauce:
* Dark Chinese Vinegar (陈醋/香醋), 2 tbsp
* Sugar, 1.5 tbsp
* Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tbsp
* Chicken bouillon (鸡粉), ½ tsp
* MSG (味精), ¼ tsp
* Cornstarch (生粉), ½ tbsp
* Water, 2 tbsp
Process can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/8ejot8/recipes_kung_pao_chicken_two_ways_classic_sichuan/
CREDITS
Lots of good videos here.
The excellent Zhang Dalei – first one is a guoba vendor, second a family wedding in Guizhou. Also, apparently the restaurant Guoba was also his footage (other Bilibili videos seem to’ve ripped it):
https://youtu.be/x68BIu0CPlE
https://youtu.be/XjRE0ztVY6U
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1aU4y1t75W/
Second, very good video of making Guoba at home courtesy 湘西苗疆阿哥:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1yx411V7aS/
And the curry egg cheese guoba for the morbidly curious:
https://weibo.com/6088522679/J0E2jC8uf
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And check out our Patreon if you’d like to support the project!
http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystified
Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHaL5H-VYRg
