Ingredients
500 g (about 1 lb) live yellow eels, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) celery heart.
Seasonings
50 g vegetable oil, 15 g cooking wine, 10 g each ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce, 5 g each vinegar and Sichuan peppercorn powder, 3 g salt, 20 g Pixian broad bean paste.
Instructions
1. Select fresh live eels with thick belly meat, gut and debone them, cut off the head and tail, then cut into strips about 8 cm long and the thickness of a chopstick; cut celery into sections about 4 cm long; finely chop Sichuan Pixian broad bean paste.
2. Place a wok over high heat, add vegetable oil and heat to 200°C (about 400°F). Add the eel strips and dry-fry until most of the moisture has evaporated, then splash in the cooking wine. Reduce the heat to low and let it dry-fry for about 3-4 minutes, then increase the heat back to high and continue stir-frying. Add the broad bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red, then add the ginger and garlic and stir well. Season with salt and soy sauce, add the celery heart and stir-fry briefly. Drizzle in a little vinegar and sesame oil, toss to combine, then transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with Sichuan pepper powder. This dish is glossy red, intensely savory and aromatic, crispy yet tender, and melts in the mouth—a true hallmark of Sichuan cuisine.