Hunan #2 (Chow)

Attempt the second. I got a significant amount of the Hunan bean flavor I'm looking for, and I think the sweet/sour balance was proper. It was still good -- can a stir-fry with zucchini in it ever be bad? -- and the wife gave it higher marks than the first attempt. Still, a ways to go...

• The hot/sour balance still failed the heat.
• The depth was better, but I'm going to need to resort to further tricks to achieve what I want without meat.
• I'm missing some critical flavoring I haven't hit upon yet.
  

Here's the bullet.

1. Gently fry in a large wok:
   • Toasted sesame oil: 1T.
   • Dried hot peppers: 6. I increased the dosage to address the hot/sour balance.
   • Ginger: 1T, grated.
   • Garlic: 4 cloves, grated.
   • Salted black beans: 2T, after reconstituting with boiling water.
   
2. Add items that need extra cooking:
   • Roasted peanuts: ¼c, frying for about 5 minutes.
   • Carrots: 1, peeled, sliced in ¼" rounds. Because I made the carrots so thick I also cooked these before adding the sauce for a few minutes.
     
3. Turn this into a sauce by adding:
   • Sake: 2T. I used a Sake Gekkeikan that we opened last night with sushi but that wasn't much to my liking; my previous attempt I squandered some Sakagura-shochu.
   • Soy sauce: ¼c.
   • Rice wine vinegar: 2T. I increased the dosage to address the sweet/sour balance.
   • Brown sugar: 2T.
   • Pepper, freshly ground: ½t.
4. Add your vegetables and cook them until they are done. I used:
   • Water chestnuts: ¼c, sliced.
   • Bamboo shoots: ¼c, sliced.
   • Red bell pepper: 1, diced.
     
   • Zucchini: 2 medium, unpeeled, sliced in ½cm rounds.
   • Bean sprouts: ¼c.
5. Serve over rice.