Spicy winter warmers

Ok, so winter in Melbourne isn't all that bad. Sure, it's cold and grey and wet but it's also the perfect time for spicy food and winter stews. And since I've been back, I've wasted very little time getting into the spirit of winter cooking/eating.

Last weekend, I caught up with some friends visiting from Perth. We were booked into Dainty Sichuan on South Yarra for dinner on Saturday (I really like the beautiful murals on the walls). I love Sichuan food (and judging from how busy the restaurant was, so does half of Melbourne).

The mouth numbing combination of chilli and sichuan peppercorns is absolutely addictive.  I left the ordering to my learned friends (in truth, we could have picked anything from the menu and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it).

One of the highlights was this spicy cumin pork rib dish. The pork was deliciously salty and fatty and spicy. However, the best part was the sauce. Indeed, I remarked that it would be such a pity to waste the left over sauce so my friend (bless) asked for a take away container from the waiter, spooned all the leftover oily goodness for me to take home, and challenged me to create a new dish from the leftovers.

During the week, I ended up creating three new dishes (there was heaps of sauce). The first was this chicken and bean dish for Sunday lunch, followed by a prawn and capsicum dish for mid week dinner and, finally, with the very last of the left over sauce a couple of nights ago, I made a minced pork and vermicelli dish. It was a pretty satisfying week of spicy sichuan goodness.