Sichuan Chicken
2 min readGong Bao fi Ding
500g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 cm(2inch) cubes
1egg white
1teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornflour
300 ml(2 pint) groundnut or vegetable oil
2dried chillies, halved
125g shelled, skinned raw or roasted peanuts
1tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1teaspoon peeled and finely chopped fresh root ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions
2 tablespoons shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons chilli bean sauce
2teaspoons black rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1teaspoon cornflour, blended with 1 tablespoon water to a smooth paste
1teaspoon sesame oil
This Sichuan classic has become well known to Chinese food lovers throughout the world. It is easy to see why-hot, sour, sweet and salty flavours meld together delishtfully.
1. Combine the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornflour in a small bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for about 20minutes.
2. Heat a wok until it is hot, then add the groundnut or vegetable oil. When the oil is hot and slightly smoking, remove the wok from the heat. Add the chicken mixture, stir vigorously and leave in the warm oil for 3 minutes or until the chicken turns white. Drain immediately in a colander, reserving the oil.
3. Wipe the wok clean and reheat. When the wok is hot again, add 11V2 tablespoons of the drained oil(the remaining oil can be saved and reused for other chicken dishes). Quickly add the dried chillies and peanuts and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Allow the chillies to blacken and the peanuts to lightly brown, to flavour the oil.
Add the garlic, ginger and spring onions and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
4. Return the drained chicken to the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the rice wine or sherry, soy sauce, chilli bean sauce, vinegar and sugar and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Add the cornflour paste and cook until the sauce has thickened. Add the sesame oil, give the mixture a good stir and serve at once.
