The Hutong's Quarantine Cook-Off, Round II: Malaxiangguo

Tom Arnstein | Mar 30, 2020 12:40 pm | Add a comment | 468 reads

With all this extra time indoors, and with many of our favorite restaurants closed, our cooking game has been seriously leveling up. So now it's time to put those skills to the test.

Now in its second week, The Hutong has selected a new recipe for you to follow in their Quarantine Cook-Off. All you need to do is cook the dish, take a picture, post it on Instagram or WeChat, and let the likes roll in!

First, some inspiration

The submissions came in thick and fast for the inaugural Quarantine Cook-Off last week, with novices and seasoned chefs all firing up their woks to tackle the same challenge: to make the best rendition of Yunnanese 黑三剁 hēi sān duò in their arsenal. Below are just a few of the entrants to get you salivating before we outline details of the next challenge:

This week's dish: Malaxiangguo

This week, the challenge heats up – quite literally – with a classic of Chongqing cuisine, malaxiangguo. Translated directly as "numbing spicy fragrant pot," malaxiangguo (pictured at top) is a hodgepodge of ingredients that are fried with those mainstays of Chongqing and Sichuan cooking: abundant chili and Sichuan peppercorns. However, because it has no real fixed ingredients –add chicken, pork, fish, potatoes, lotus root, mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, you name it! – it's also incredibly versatile and can suit any dietary requirements, even if you don't eat spicy. Click here for the full recipe.

How to enter

Depending on which social media you choose to post on, you should:

  • WeChat: Take a screenshot to show us that you posted your dish picture in your Moments and send it to The Hutong's WeChat (ID: TheHutongBeijing), or scan the QR code at the bottom of this post.
  • Instagram: Post your photo adding the hashtags: #TheHutong #TheHutongkitchen #TheBeijinger #quarantinecookoff #Malaxiangguo

Entries should be submitted by 8pm on Sunday, Apr 5 and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, Apr 7 at 2pm.

For your hard work sweating it out in the kitchen, you stand the chance to win culinary merchandise from The Hutong (plus plenty of kudos from your friends). A winner will be chosen each week by The Hutong’s in-house chef and dishes will be judged on creativity, plating, photography, and Instagram/WeChat likes.

Scan the QR code in the poster for details of this week's recipe or the code below for The Hutong's official WeChat, and be sure to follow the Beijinger (Instagram: @the_beijinger; WeChat ID: thebeijinger) and The Hutong (Instagram: @thehutong; WeChat ID: thehutong) on social media.

Need a hand to get the ingredients? 

Contact The Hutong via WeChat or mobile 159 0104 6127 to order a package containing all the ingredients you need to cook each week's recipe. They also offer other ingredients/recipe packs.

Happy cooking, Beijing! May the best dish win.

READ: How to Bake Your Own Rice Cooker Cake (the Right Way)

The Beijinger and beijingkids are proud media sponsors of The Hutong's Quarantine Cook-Off.

Images: thewoksoflife.com, courtesy of The Hutong