Yunnan Summer Squash Stewed With Black Cardamom (Caoguo Men Xiaogua, 草果焖小瓜)
The Mala MarketIngredients
- 1 pound squat, hard, star-shaped summer squash
- 1 large waxy potato, such as Yukon gold
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 dried chili, such as xiao mi la, broken in half
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black cardamom (caoguo) seeds (see note)
Instructions
- Cut the squash into irregular 1½-to-2-inch-long, 1-inch-thick pieces, cutting around the outsides of the flying saucer-like shape, so that the soft, seed-filled centers of each squash are not included; discard these centers. (If you have tiny baby squash, you can just trim the green stem ends a bit and cut them in half, centers included.) Peel the potato and cut it into pieces to match the squash.
- Pour the oil into a wok and heat it over a very high flame until it is very hot and shimmering; (I like to look for just the tiniest wisp of smoke coming from the edge of oil). Add the dried chili and cook for a few seconds, until it darkens.
- Add the squash and potatoes and stir-fry them for a few seconds, to coat them with oil, then sprinkle in the salt and ground caoguo. Mix until the seasonings are well distributed.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the wok, flatten the pieces of vegetable, so that they are submerged in the water evenly (or at least none are sticking way up above the others), and cover the wok with a lid. Stew the vegetables for 4–5 minutes, then stir them once, so that the top pieces have a chance to cook in the liquid, and continue to stew them (lid on) for another 4–5 minutes, until everything is tender but not so soft that the pieces start losing their shape.
- Remove the lid, stir well to distribute the seasoning, and continue to cook everything for another 1–2 minutes (with the lid off) to boil away the remaining liquid. Serve hot.
Notes
For the ground caoguo: Crack open black cardamom pods and remove the inner seeds; remove and discard the white membranes around them. Grind the seeds to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Use immediately, as the powder loses its flavor and aroma within a few hours.