Hunanese Chopped Salted Chiles (剁辣椒)

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We've had Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province for a while now, but haven't ventured to cook anything from it yet. But, with Hunanese food in the air here in Vancouver, JS and I decided it's high time we should!

Of course, being lazy, we thought we should pick the easiest recipes to make. ;) A couple of the recipes we are looking at calls for salted chiles, an ingredient oft-used in Hunanese food.



[ts]
It's simple enough to make. Simply wash and dry some red chiles, then chop. Mix with salt and place in a jar, covered with more salt.



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One is supposed to wait two weeks before using, so we have one more week to go.

update:
Here they are after sitting for a bit. They didn't change that much in appearance.




eatingclub Hunan dishes
Hunanese Chopped Salted Chiles (剁辣椒)
Mao's Hunan Red-Braised Pork (毛氏紅燒肉)
Steamed Red-Braised Pork with Pickled Mustard Greens (酸菜蒸紅燒肉)
Hunanese Stir-fried Eggs with Green Peppers
Hunanese Steamed Chicken with Salted Chiles (剁辣椒蒸雞)

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Recipe
Hunanese Chopped Salted Chiles (剁辣椒)
from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province

Note:
I only had about half the amount of chiles. Who has one pound of peppers lying around their homes!? ;)

I wasn't sure what type of salt to use, so I used kosher salt.

1 lb very fresh red chiles
1/4 cup salt

Wash the chiles and dry thoroughly. Cut off their stems and bottoms, and chop coarsely with the seeds. Place chopped chiles in a bowl.

Add 3 1/2 tablespoons of the salt to the chiles and mix thoroughly. Place in a glass jar and cover with the remaining salt. Seal with a tight-fitting lid. Leave in a cool place for a couple of weeks before using, then store in the refrigerator once opened. The chiles will keep for months.