Spicy Szechuan Chicken
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Category
Chicken
Author:
Ingredients
FOR THE SPICY CHICKEN MARINADE:
- 1 pound of chicken breast
- 3 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1.5 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine
- 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp of five spice
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda
FOR STIR FRY:
- 3 cups of dried chili
- 1/4 cup of oil
- 1/4 cup of green Sichuan peppercorn
- 1/3 cup of minced garlic
- 1/3 cup of ginger strips
- A hand full of the white part of a spring onion
- Few pieces of face heaven chilies optional
- White sesame seeds
Directions
Cut your chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.
- Marinate it with Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, sugar, five spice, a little bit of salt, some cornstarch. Mix it until the liquid is all gone. Set that aside for 30 minutes before frying it.
- Bring the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the temperature with 1 small piece of chicken. If the chicken floats to the top and there are many bubbles coming out, it means you are good to go.
- We are going to fry the chicken twice. The first time is to cook the chicken through. The second time is to get a nice color and make the surface a bit crispy.
- Separate your chicken before you put them into the hot oil. It is very important to make sure your chicken doesn’t clump up together. Slightly push them a little bit to make sure they are fully separated.
- After a minute, you can take it out. Don’t fry it too long because pieces of chicken this small cook quickly. Let it rest for few minutes.
- Before you fry it the second time, you need to be careful with the hot oil. It will splash a lot because of the water from the first time you fry the chicken.
- You only need about 40 seconds to get it really nice.
- Take it out. Set that aside and we will start the stir fry process.
- Heat up your wok on high for 10 seconds, then turn the heat to low. Add in 1/4 cup of oil along with all the aromatics (garlic, the ginger, the white part of spring onion, Sichuan peppercorn and the face heaven chilGive it a little stir. Then add in the red dry chilies. Mix it together.
- I like to add a tsp of salt, this will help release the flavor.
- Stir this on low heat for about 3-5 minutes. Add your chicken into the wok. Mix everything together and add a splash of water from the side of the wok. A tiny amount of water will help the chicken become infused with the flavors.
- Keep stirring it for 2 or 3 minutes. Take it out. Add some sesame seeds as garnish. You are done.
