Slice Spring onions thin on the bias and crush Roasted peanuts with the flat of your knife. Mash Garlic with a pinch of Sugar until it turns to a sticky paste. Toast Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat until it crackles and smells sharply citrusy, about 1 min 30 sec. Cool, then grind to a fine powder. Chop Ya cai very fine so no firm bits survive the frying. If yours tastes aggressively salty, rinse it and squeeze it dry in a cloth.

⚠ A quick crush and shake through a sieve is fine here: you want powder, not grit, or the numbing lands in one bite instead of spreading.

⚠ Ya cai is the backbone of the dish. Skip it and you are eating chilli noodles, which is a different, sadder bowl.

• Spring onions
• Roasted peanuts
• Garlic
• Sugar
• Sichuan peppercorns
• Ya cai