China · Home-style
Tiger Skin Peppers
Green chilies pressed and blistered in the wok until the skins wrinkle and char, then tossed in a sweet-sour soy and vinegar sauce. The blistered skin is the whole point.
The name refers to the mottled, scorched skin the chilies develop when they are pressed against a hot wok, and cooks judge a good one by how evenly that pattern spreads. This is a dish of restraint in seasoning, where sugar and vinegar carry the flavour and the chilies keep their character. Press them continuously rather than stirring, or they will never blister.
Ingredients
- green chilies5 pieces
- garlic cloves3 pieces
- oil20 ml
- sugar15 g
- light soy sauce15 ml
- black vinegar15 ml
- salt4 g
Directions
- 1
Pull the stems off the green chilies and rinse them under the tap.
- 2
Cut the chilies lengthways into long strips, roughly 3 or 4 to a chili.
- 3
Peel the garlic and chop it to about 2 mm dice.
- 4
Seasoning 1: pour 20 ml of oil into a small bowl and stir the chopped garlic into it.
- 5
Seasoning 2: put the sugar, light soy sauce, vinegar and salt into a bowl and stir together.
- 6
Pour seasoning 1 into the wok and heat it, then add the chili strips over medium heat, keeping them in a single layer rather than piled up.
- 7
Press the chilies repeatedly with the spatula, turning them when the moment is right.
- 8
Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, and once the skins have blistered, pour in seasoning 2.
- 9
Raise the heat, stir-fry for another 30 seconds and serve.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.