水煮[something]片 (water boiled beef, fish, pork, chicken, etc.)

水煮肉片

1 pound of something (chicken breast, lean pork, beef tenderloin, fish (recommend tilapia, swai, or sole), or even silken tofu: anything with very little fat that will cook tender quickly.  The dish is typically so spicy that no one will taste anything anyways.  If using meat, make sure ALL the fat is trimmed: it simply will not cook fast enough to taste good.)

1 pound nappa cabbage, chopped into 2" squares or smaller (optional)

2 cups broth with:
2TB soy sauce
2TB rice wine

.5c canola oil
3TB crushed red chili
2TB coarse korean chili
2TB sichuan peppercorn

2 green onions, whites thinly sliced, greens cut into a decorative shape and reserved
.5" ginger, minced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
cilantro, if desired, for garnish

-If using lean pork or chicken, brine the meat for 30 minutes(good quality beef, fish, tofu this is unnecessary)

-Using a minimum of oil (or none, if you have a well-seasoned wok), stir fry the nappa cabbage until tender and remove to the bottom of your final serving vessel.  This cabbage will help regulate the final temperature of the dish to prevent overcooking during the boiling step, and SO IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

-Get the 2 cups of broth on hand and ready to use.  Heat the half cup oil with the sichuan peppercorns in a heavy bottomed pot on medium high.  When peppercorns turn dark brown and the oil is just beginning to smoke, reduce heat to medium low, add the garlic, green onion whites and crushed red chilis and korean chilis.  Cook until oil turns very deep red, typically less than a minute.  As soon as it turns a deep red color and is very fragrant (you'll probably be coughing and sneezing and wanting to cry)  add the broth to cool the oil.

-Add the ginger, soy sauce, and rice wine to the broth if you haven't already.

-When the meat is brined, rinsed, and drained (or if you didn't use a brine) take your 1 pound of stuff and coat it with 1 TB of cornstarch.  Heat the soup on maximum heat: it should be very rapidly boiling.  Stir the soup as fast as you can without it shooting out of your pot.  Working quickly, put in your 1 pound of "whatever" slices and continue to stir.

IF USING BEEF, FISH, PORK, OR LAMB: when the slices just begin to firm up, remove from the heat: when the pieces turn color, immediately pour over the nappa cabbage.  The residual heat of the liquid ought to be enough to cook the slices without the stove top to a perfect medium rare and the cabbage should absorb whatever heat is left.

IF USING CHICKEN: make sure color is about almost completely white before removing from heat and soup just begins to reboil, then pour over cabbage.  Or if you're brave, you can cook it as above, but you might get salmonella.  I know the feel of the chicken between chopsticks when it's perfect, but it's hard to describe how to use that method.  Sorry.

Garnish with green onion greens and/or chopped cilantro.