We're making the water-boiled fish today. It's exemplary of Sichuan cooking and of the mala flavor. SETH: So water-boiled fish, I know this dish is going to be a lot tastier than the name might imply.

Water-boiled fish is one of the most impressive dishes in the Sichuan repertoire: an enormous bowl of vegetables and broth bloodied with a half-inch of vivid chile oil.