BARBECUED CHILLI PINEAPPLE WITH STEAMED MILK CUSTARD SICHUAN PEPPER ICE CREAM

Dishes often evolve from the most unlikely circumstances.I can’t even remember the exact details now but i do recall that i first thought of this as a dish for our restaurant menu while i was watching a street vendor barbecuing’stinking tofu in Beijing.If you were ever to stand next to a stand of’stinking tofu，probably thelast thing you would think of is tropical，fragrant pineapple，but hey，c’est la vie While at this tofu stand，I also remember turning to the neighbouring newsstand and noticing that it was selling yogurt-that’s right，Chinese yogurt，contrary to the belief that we Chinese do not eat dairy due to a missing enzyme in our dna for breaking down lactose.So this is how the dessert of barbecued chilli pineapple with yogurt and Sichuan pepper-flavoured ice cream found its way onto our menu，though here i am giving you a recipe for a simple and delicious milk custard instead of the yogurt

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

150g caster sugar

50g glt

100ml water

200ml dark rum

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

grated rind of 1/2 orange

10g dried chilli，cut into short lengths

1/2 pineapple，cut into 6 portions lengthways and the hard core removed，then cut into chunks To serve

Steamed milk custard

Sichuan pepper ice cream

1.Mix the sugar and glucose with the water in a heavy-based pan and heat over a medium heat，without stirring，until the sugar has dissolved.Increase the heat and boil until the mixture begins to turn brown

2.Carefully add the rum and allow the alcohol to evaporate-that is，wait for the flames to die down

3.Mix in the citrus rinds and dried chilli and leave to cool

4.Add the pineapple chunks to the rum mixture and turn to coat，then transfer to a vacuum-pack bag and use a vacuum packer to remove the air and seal the bag

5.Cook in a temperature-controlled water bath at 65 C for 30 minutes

6.Just before serving，remove the pineapple from the water bath and bag and，using a blowtorch，char the outside to give it an extra smoky dimension

7.Serve the pineapple with the Steamed milk Custard and Sichuan Pepper Ice cream

CHEFS TIP

If you don’t have a temperature-controlled water bath or a vacuum packer，just add the pineapple pieces to the sauce and gently simmer them until they are tender

hancheng

See author's posts