I don’t know about you, but when I think of spicy szechuan food, the first thing I think about is the Monkland village in NDG. I mean, fiery dishes that are capable of shutting your body down, pulling every ounce of moisture to bead sweat out of the top of your head to your face off, I mean, duh, come on, that spot next to the Pharmaprix at the bottom of that apartment building. I got word that the chef from one of Montreal’s premier Szechuan restaurants Cuisine Szechuan on Guy opened up a new spot in NDG and decided to check it out.
You’ve all seen it at your favourite local sushi spot; that smooth and creamy spicy mayo that you dip your delicately wrapped maki into. If you’re like me, then most plates of sushi are sided with at least a gallon of this stuff. Sometimes called “dynamite sauce”, we all know it as spicy mayo. A quick concoction of mayo and Sriracha that would leave all traditional sushi chef masters cringing in their platform wooden clogs. My recipe for spicy mayo has a bit of a twist that will leave your tastebuds craving for more and your pants down by your ankles.
I once wondered what it would be like to cook a bao (a steamed bun) like you would a pan-fried dumpling. I entertained the idea for a while trying to figure out how it would work and followed my instincts and went for it. I didn’t get too far until my mom told me that pan-fried baos are an actual thing and popped all my dreams of being a hybrid dumpling-bao visionary. Chances are unless you’ve traveled to Jiangnan or Shanghai China, you’ve probably never had these pan-fried pork buns here in Montreal – no one makes them here… but now YOU can!