It was meant to be a friendly dish, some ground pork mixture stuffed in juicy bell peppers. Well, the kind of bell peppers I got surely are juicy, but what the vendor didn't tell me was how spicy they were. I was on fire!
So please steer away from the bell peppers looking similar to mine if you can't handle the heat. Ask for sweeter variety, and on the medium or small size too.
Fiery stuffed bell peppers in Asian sauce 超辣青椒鑲肉 -
Ingredients?
- 6 to 8 medium small green bell peppers
- 300 grams ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1 stalk scallion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
How?
Cap the bell peppers of your choice, gentle roll it against the cutting board then pour out the seeds inside. If you can't get all the seeds and piths out, carefully run a dull knife along the inner edge.
Destem and chop the scallion. Peel and chop the garlic. Have a bowl ready and add in both chopped scallion and garlic. Also add in the ground pork, 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon of corn starch, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix till evenly blended.
Stuff the ground pork mixture inside the bell peppers and make sure not to over-stuff or too forceful, otherwise the bell pepper might break..
You can use something like a piping bag and cut a little opening on the corner, use that to squeeze in the filling.
Premix the sauce first by adding 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine, 1 tablespoon of mirin, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to a bowl. Whisk and make sure most of the sugar has been dissolved.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil to a pan and switch to medium heat. Wait till the surface gets hot then add in stuffed bell peppers.
Sear till the bottom turns slightly charred. Move to other sides and sear till slightly colored.
Pour in premixed sauce and swirl the pan a little so all the bell peppers can get evenly coated with the sauce. Bring to a light bubbling stage and cook a bit longer.
Once the sauce has been reduced a little, transfer to serving plate and drizzle the remaining sauce all over.
If you're working with bigger bell peppers, you might have to cover with lid after adding the sauce. Cook for one or two minutes more to ensure the very center of the stuffing are fully cooked.
Luckily I can take on some heat, it's just that I don't eat as spicy as before. Back then I always order super spicy crispy chicken paired with one big cup of very satisfying boba milk tea. Yes, they actually categorized the spicy level up to the "super spicy" tier, and I was totally ok with it.
However, not these light green and skinny bell peppers though. You probably won't feel much from the first couple bites, but that burning sensation will start crawling from your throat all the way down to the belly soon after.
Next time when I visit that same vegetable stand that sold me these bell peppers, I'll have a good conversation with the uncle there (we often chat a little whenever I go).
Other recipes using bell peppers, friendly bell peppers:
- Paccheri with tuna in red bell pepper sauce
- Dairy free chorizo and colorful bell pepper orzo
- SPAM fried potatoes and bell pepper