Green Chile Pepper with Century Eggs

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1

   

   Prepare all the ingredients and rinse them clean. (Any green chile works well; for more heat, use screw peppers or Zhangshugang peppers.)

   ✅ Done when: All ingredients are rinsed clean and laid out ready to use.

2. 2

   Step 2

   

   Smash the garlic cloves flat with the side of the knife, then give them a few rough chops — not too fine and not too deliberate. Smash the chile peppers the same way (the long line peppers can simply be cut in half); this is faster and helps them absorb flavor.

   ✅ Done when: Garlic is flattened and roughly chopped, and the chiles are smashed or halved into large pieces.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Dry-frying (gan bian) ↗
   

   Heat the wok, add the chile peppers with a small pinch of salt, and dry-stir-fry without any oil — this is what creates the nice tiger-skin blistering later.

   ✅ Done when: The wok is hot and the peppers are searing in the dry pan with no oil.

4. 4

   Step 42 min

   Medium heatStir-frying ↗
   

   Keep stir-frying over medium-low heat until tiger-skin blisters form and the pan begins to smoke slightly; then the peppers are ready to come out. For more blistering, cook another minute or two, lowering the heat if you do.

   ✅ Done when: The peppers show charred tiger-skin patches and the pan just starts to smoke.

5. 5

   Step 51 min

   Low heatAromatic blooming (bao xiang) ↗
   

   Set the charred peppers aside. Add a bit more oil to the wok than you would for a normal stir-fry, add the garlic, and saute over low heat for about 10 seconds — leaving the garlic slightly undercooked gives better texture.

   ✅ Done when: The garlic is fragrant after about 10 seconds but not browned.

6. 6

   Step 6

   Medium-high heatStir-frying ↗
   

   Return the charred peppers to the wok and stir-fry over medium-high heat.

   ✅ Done when: The peppers are back in the wok and sizzling over medium-high heat.

7. 7

   Step 7

   Low heat
   

   Once the peppers are well seared, reduce to low heat and begin seasoning.

   ✅ Done when: The peppers are evenly seared and the heat has been turned down to low.

8. 8

   Step 8

   High heatStir-frying ↗
   

   Add a small pinch of chicken bouillon powder (plus a small spoonful of oyster sauce if you like), then a generous tablespoon and a half of light soy sauce, and stir-fry over high heat.

   ✅ Done when: The seasonings are added and the peppers are being tossed quickly over high heat.

9. 9

   Step 91 min

   Medium heatSimmering (dun) ↗
   

   Add a small splash of water, cover, and simmer for 10 seconds — not much water, just enough to create a little sauce that will blend well with the century eggs.

   ✅ Done when: The mixture has simmered covered for 10 seconds with a small amount of sauce forming.

10. 10

    Step 10

    

    Once the sauce has mostly reduced, taste and adjust — since the chiles are spicy, the dish can lean slightly salty, which seasons the century eggs just right when mashed together. At this point it is already a great rice dish even without the century eggs.

    ✅ Done when: The sauce has reduced and the dish tastes well seasoned, slightly on the salty side.

11. 11

    Step 11

    

    Plate the peppers over the century eggs and serve. Before eating, mash the century eggs and mix everything together so they soak up the sauce and the fresh chile aroma. Chopsticks work fine; a traditional mortar bowl for lei pepper and century egg makes it even better.

    ✅ Done when: Century eggs are mashed and evenly coated with the pepper mixture and sauce at the table.