Liver Chengdu with ginger

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 400 g liver(s), of your choice
• 1 ginger, fresh, about 10 cm, OR:
• 1 tbsp, leveled ginger powder
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp, leveled cornstarch
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, naturally brewed
• n. B. Black pepper, freshly ground
• 400 g fresh leek
• e.g. soy sauce
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar, optional
• 1 cup rice (varietal of your choice)
• some oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Liver dish from Central China with ginger, without sauce

First, cover the liver in a bowl with cold water. Then, wash the rice and add it to a pot with at least 2 cups of water. Let it stand. Finely chop or mince the garlic, but do not crush it. Peel and grate the ginger. Remove the liver from the water, rinse briefly, and dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. Cut into cubes approximately 3 x 3 cm in size. Mix the liver with the ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, chopped garlic, and a generous grind of pepper. The liver should be coated. The marinade should be just moist; some liquid will always collect at the bottom of the bowl. Place the prepared liver next to the stove, along with the bottle of soy sauce, and add a little sugar if desired. Wash the leek. Cut it into approximately 0.5 cm wide rings. Place in a bowl next to the stove. Bring the rice to a boil and finish cooking over moderate heat. Then, in a large, non-stick frying pan or wok, gently heat a little oil, add the leek, and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and, if desired, a pinch of sugar. Cook for about another 2 minutes, turning occasionally, then return to the bowl. Clean the pan/wok with kitchen paper or briefly rinse and dry it. Heat a little more oil gently. Carefully mix the liver with the marinade again; the starch should coat the liver like breadcrumbs. Add the liver, along with all of the marinade, to the fat and cook until browned, stirring gently and constantly. For a maximum of 5 to 7 minutes. The liver should have a brown crust on the outside but remain moist to slightly pink on the inside. Then add the leek again and heat briefly. Serve with the rice. I got this recipe from an exchange student 25 years ago. In Central China, the spices we are familiar with, especially hot and sour ones, are not common in the Asian recipes we know them from.