Please Help Me Reverse Engineer "Fake Szechuan" [Moved from SF Bay Area]
My wife and I are addicted to Hangen Szechuan in Mountain View. We are creatures of habit. We have never found Thai food in San Jose as much as Siamese Bay (Monterey) so we have driven to Monterrey for take out (not day trip-- take out) ordering the same few pork/chicken curries and mint noodles with chicken. Every week we go to Mountain View for Chinese take out from Hangen and order from Chinese Menu couple orders of "Home Style Shredded Pork-- Szechuan Style" with 3 orders of rice.
We are loyal shoppers there but can any gourmandes familiar with this restaurant stoop to explaining what type of sauces, ingredients they might use for this Szechuan or "fake Szechuan" recipe? Some times we want to try to replicate the dish for fun of it or to have less than a pool of oily water encasing the dish.
It has very strong garlic flavor and a reddish sauce. I have not replicated this with sauces from anywhere or using different sub-sets of brown bean sauce, garlic, sesame chili oil, green chilies, green onions, pork, oyster sauce, salt, Szechuan peppercorns, store-bought Szechuan chili sauces, red peppers, and soy in a hot seasoned wok.
I say "fake Szechuan" as I have Chinese-American friends who grew up in bay area and do not consider "Hangen" authentic in any real sense, thought they know the owners.
Please help. I am desperate.
