This stew can be vegetarian if you use water or a vegetable broth for the liquid, and to really keep the cost down, you can cook dried garbanzo beans in the slow cooker the day before instead of using canned.

You don’t have to use bone-in chicken for this dish, but bone-in is usually less expensive than boneless, and you can make a stock with the leftover bones in the slow cooker. Just cover the bones with water, add a few pieces of carrots, onions and celery and cook on low overnight. Use leftover chicken for another dish, such as stir-fried rice or soup.

Both the chili bean paste and the Sichuan Peppercorns can be bought online (follow the links) if you don’t have a good Chinese market nearby. Use tofu labeled “silken” in a hardness range of medium to firm. Don’t try this with the super-soft stuff or it’ll fall apart! Ground pork and/or beef can also be used.

You can use store-bought roasted chili oil, or make your own by toasting a cup of whole hot dried Chinese peppers in a wok until lightly charred, then adding 1 1/2 cups of vegetable or canola oil. Heat the oil until the chilis start to bubble slightly, then allow to cool and transfer to a sealable container. Chili oil will stay good in the refrigerator for several months.

Although mozzarella is standard, any good melting cheese such as cheddar, jack, or young provolone will work for this recipe. This recipe is intended to be made with dry (aged) mozzarella cheese, the yellowish variety that comes in firm blocks. Do not use fresh mozzarella, as it it too moist. If you only want to bake one pizza at a time, you can transfer 1 ball of dough to a sealed zipperlock bag or container in step 3 and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Continue with step 4 when ready to bake.

Although this recipe calls for head-on shrimp, peeled and deveined shrimp will work just as well too.

Sichuan peppercorns and fermented chili bean paste can be located in your local Asian supermarket. To make your own chili oil for this recipe, toast 1/4 cup hot dried chili peppers in a wok or skillet until toasted, then add 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil and gently heat until the chilis start to bubble slightly. Let cool.