Shanghainese Broad Bean Mash 豆瓣酥

Broad Bean Mash may not look the most delectable, but it is one of the richest, most scrumptious and satisfying cold appetizers you may find on a Shanghainese menu. Good news for those who are not into cold appetizers, this dish may be served hot as well!

Unfortunately, not many restaurants in Hong Kong serve this dish. I don't understand this because unlike the yellow mung bean bricks which I have introduced to you in the previous post, broad bean mash is not at all difficult or time-consuming to make! So, I decided to experiment and reproduce this family-favorite.

Let me warn you in advance. Spoon after spoon, you can easily finish a whole pack of broad beans and still feel like you haven't had enough. But do try to restrain yourself from over-eating this because soon after 5 minutes, the bloating will sink in and hit you and cause great straining at waist! ARGHH!

  
Shanghainese Broad Bean Mash 豆瓣酥
(Servings: 4)
Ingredients
- 400g skinned broad beans 去皮豆瓣
- 80-100g of Chinese pickled cabbage 雪菜
- 200ml of water
- 100ml of chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 3 tbs of peanut oil

Instructions
1. Throw into a small saucepan the skinned broad beams, water and chicken broth. Bring them to a boil and then switch to low-medium fire and let them simmer for 15 minutes, until the water has more or less dried up and the beans have become mushy as shown in the picture above. Test it with a fork, the beans are ready when they are easy to break.
2.Turn off the heat and mash the beans with a fork. It is alright to have little bits here and there.
3. Turning to the Chinese pickled cabbage, squeeze out all the excess water and finely mince the cabbage.
4. Heat the wok with 3 tbs of peanut oil and stir-fry the minced pickled cabbage over small-medium heat for 10-15 seconds. Be careful with the oil and keep stirring to avoid burning the cabbage. 
5. Fry the cabbage with sugar and the mashed beans. Stir to combine. If the mixture is already quite thick, a quick mix with do. Whereas, if the mixture appears too liquidy, keep frying over small-medium heat until the water has reduced and you have reached the desired consistency.
6. You may serve it hot or cold. Both taste great!