When you’re looking for a pleasurable sauce that doubles as a dip but won’t take you much time, consider dill sauce. It’s creamy, tasty, and only takes five minutes to make. Yes, really!
Dill sauce is a staple in Mediterranean dishes, but you can change it up for western fare too. For example, this recipe calls for Greek yogurt. Use mayonnaise and/or sour cream instead. If you plan on using it for shrimp, add a bit of lemon zest.
For what types of things might you use dill dip? How about as a drizzle on salmon, a dip for fresh or roasted vegetables, on sandwiches, or on baked potatoes. It also makes a fantastic dip with rye bread pieces.
There are a few things you can do to ensure success. Use a mix of fresh dill and dry. It gives you layers of flavor. Also, if you don’t like the thickness of Greek yogurt, you can add a little water at a time until you get the desired consistency.
Yield: 1 ¼ cup
Ingredients
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 8oz ground pork
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 Thai bird’s eye chiles, sliced finely
- 2 Tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 20 dried Chinese chiles
- 6oz chicken stock
- 16oz firm tofu, drained of liquid
- 2 Tbsp ginger, finely minced
- 3 Tbsp garlic, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp Chinese spicy broad bean paste
- 2 corn starch
- 2 sugar
- 1 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar, also known as Chinkiang vinegar
- 2 sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp prepared Chinese chili crisp condiment
- 3 scallions, finely sliced
Instructions
- Add 1 tsp kosher salt to pork.
- Heat ½ of the oil in a saute pan on high heat and brown the pork.
- Add remaining oil, and add the bird’s eye chiles, Sichuan peppercorns, dried Chinese chiles, tofu, ginger, garlic, and Chinese spicy broad bean paste and stir to combine.
- Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and mix gently and reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cook pork for an additional 30 minutes on a very low simmer.
- Make a slurry by mixing together 2 tsp corn starch with 2 tsp water in a small bowl.
- Pour corn starch slurry into the cooking pan with the pork and tofu and stir to thicken.
- Add the sugar and stir to combine.
- Continue cooking for an additional 12-15 minutes and taste.
- Add more salt if needed.
- Add the Chinese black vinegar, sesame oil, and chili crisp condiment and stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Serve hot, with a side of white rice.
- Garnish the mapo tofu dish with finely sliced scallions.
Notes
Green Sichuan peppercorns are harder to locate in stores, but they have an amazing, more floral peppercorn flavor when added to the dish in addition to the normal red Sichuan peppercorns.
Chili crisp can be found in prepared jars at many grocery stores. It is delicious and spicy, adding some welcome texture to the finished dish.