Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to classic Americanized Chinese cuisine with a shot at a stir fry that I imagine (if you're like me) many will have heard of, but few actually know what it really...is? Which is the popular Chinese take out dish known as Hunan chicken. Upon further research, I found that Hunan chicken is as expected, a veggie stir fry combined with a wok seared and fried piece of chicken, characteristically defined by a bright, tangy, and rich umami forward sauce base. The more Americanized versions of this dish rely heavily on a classic Chinese "brown" sauce (which is in other words, a soy sauce based sauce element that's been thickened with corn starch to create a saucey stir fry quality).
For our version today though, we'll instead be using an approach courtesy of the woks of life that I find myself using more and more frequently with stir fries lately, wherein we'll be aggressively reducing our sauce base (rather than thickening it) to create a rich and reduced sauce that more clings to our proteins and veggies, rather than coats it. This in turn creates a somewhat uniquely savory quality to our veggies and proteins, without a sauce left behind to coat our rice bowl. Finally, as we dive into the mystery of what actually is Hunan Chicken? We'll also take a closer look more specifically at how does it differ from its contemporaries, like Sichuan chicken, or Kung Pao chicken? Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
3 medium chicken thighs
1/2 medium white onion
1 red bell pepper
3 green onions
6-8 Tian Jin peppers
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 1 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp corn starch
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 1 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp black vinegar
2 tbsp fermented black bean in chili oil
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
MINCE the ginger, set aside
SLICE the green onions into planks, set aside
LARGE DICE the bell pepper, set aside
LARGE DICE the onion, set aside
LARGE DICE the chicken, then combine with all marinade ingredients and let marinate for 30 minutes
COMBINE all sauce ingredients and set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the chicken to the wok, sear for 2 minutes undisturbed, then toss with the wok tilted downward for wok hei
SAUTE for an additional 1 minute, push the chicken to one side of the wok, add the garlic and ginger, and bloom for 15 seconds on the wok surface until fragrant
ADD the bell pepper and saute for 1-2 minutes
ADD the onion and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes, then remove everything from the wok
REDUCE the heat to medium low, then add the Tian Jin peppers and dry toast until fragrant for 2-3 minutes
ADD the sauce and reduce for 4-5 minutes until reduced by about 50%
ADD the chicken and vegetables back to the wok, toss to combine, and continue to reduce until no liquid remains