Horse Station Pot! Even up to the early 90s, Dai Ma Zam (the horse station) used to be a center for street food in Guangzhou - even well past when there were actually horse-related services there. These days, there's not much you can see of that history there anymore - a street sign, and a business complex bearing the name, mostly.But you can see the echoes of that history with this dish, the horse station pot. This *dish* isn't lost, per se - while it's not only common, you can see it grace restaurants in Guangzhou and even some food courts in Hong Kong. But it's days as a street food classic are most certainly over.INGREDIENTS FOR HORSE STATION POT-Siu Yuk Roast Pork Belly (烧肉), 200g-Silken or Soft Tofu (嫩豆腐), 400g-Jiucai Chinese Chives (韭菜), 40g (note: sometimes referred to as garlic chives, or buchu in Korean)-Green garlic (蒜苗), 60g -or- ~3 cloves garlic-Shrimp paste (虾酱), 1 tbsp-Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 2 tbsp total -Water, 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (apologies for the oddly exact amount there, you could probably also get away with a half cup)-Sugar, 1 tsp-Peanut oil for frying, plus 1 tbsp for finishing (if your peanut oil is a neutral one, I would swap the finishing oil with ~1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil mixed with ~1/2 tbsp peanut oil)PROCESS FOR HORSE STATION POTFor reference, the claypot in this video was 7.5 inches in diameter and hold ~600mL of liquid up to the lower lip.1. Cut the Siu Yuk into 1.5 inch by 1 inch chunks, slice the jiucai into ~2.5 inch sections (remove the fibrous end), separate the white part of the green garlic from the greens & slice the greens into ~2.5 inch sections (reserve the white part as well).2. Over a medium flame, heat a claypot until you can start to feel a bit of the heat - this'll take a bit, ~3 minutes (claypots heat slow). Then add ~1 tbsp of peanut oil and fry the white part of the green garlic (or the garlic cloves) for 45 seconds or so til fragrant.3. Add the Siu Yuk, fry for ~2 minutes or until the exterior of the Siu Yuk looks 'glistening'. That's its lard rendering out. Swirl in 1 tbsp of liaojiu/Shaoxing wine. Quick mix.4. Add the shrimp paste. Make sure to get all of it. Mix thoroughly, ~30 seconds5. Add in the ~2 tbsp water and ~1 tbsp more of liaojiu/Shaoxing wine. Quick mix. Add the tofu pieces on top.6. Add half cup water, cover, simmer for 15 minutes over medium-low flame. (note: using something with a non-breathing lid like a cast iron, leave the lid slightly ajar instead of fulling covering).7. Add in green garlic greens, cover, cook 2 minutes more. Taste and (assuming it's salty enough) add in 1 tsp sugar. 8. Add Jiucai Chinese chives, the 1 tbsp of peanut oil to finish, cover. Heat off, let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.Do remember to let it sit for five minutes before eating. Forgot that bit in the narration.Footage of the street scenes, it should be said, were not specifically of Dai Ma Zam in Guangzhou (I wish!). One clip was this footage from the Qing Dynasty from YouTuber Wilson Grand: https://youtu.be/X7UZAZM_qfwAnd the other was actually from Hong Kong in the 30s:https://youtu.be/hIHTrmz4hTIAnd check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystifiedOutro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพFound via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg ABOUT US-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We're Steph and Chris - a food-obsessed couple that lives in Shunde, China. Steph is from Guangzhou and loves cooking food from throughout China - you'll usually be watching her behind the wok. Chris is a long-term expat from America that's been living in China and loving it for the last eleven years - you'll be listening to his explanations, and doing some cooking at times as well.This channel is all about learning how to cook the same taste that you'd get here. Our goal for each video is to give you a recipe that would at least get you close to some of our favorite restaurants here. Because of that, our recipes are no-holds-barred Chinese when it comes to style and ingredients - but feel free to ask for tips about adaptations and sourcing too!
