hello! Hi everyone, Wesley hwere. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with a Sichuan chicken, or "laziji". For those following along, a few weeks back we dove into the deceptively mysterious dish that we all know and love (but don't really understand what it is), known as Hunan chicken, defined by its use of fermented black bean in a heavily reduced sauce base. After doing a bit of research on this dish, it led me down the rabbit hole in sorting out not only exactly what...IS Hunan chicken, but also, how does it differ from its contemporaries, such as Sichuan chicken? And so, here we are.
For those piecing this mystery together along with me, the Sichuan "laziji" or literally, "spicy chicken," is sometimes referred to as Mala chicken, and has a few unique qualities to it that set it apart from other chicken dishes. Probably most obviously, it is defined by the inclusion of the Sichuan peppercorn, which gives the dish (as with most Sichuan cuisine) its unique numbing spice quality. In addition to this though, Sichuan chicken is specifically defined by its use of dried Tian Jin peppers. Those following along may likely have seen these peppers come up in all sorts of contexts on this channel (both in stir fries as well as chili oils, garnishes, and everything inbetween). For our dish today, however, we're going to capitalize on the wonderful aromatic qualities of these peppers by simmering them in oil to draw out their aromatics, then frying our chicken in that oil to impart those spicy qualities. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
4 medium chicken thighs
4 tbsp corn starch
1 cup neutral oil
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn
sesame seed
INGREDIENTS (dry spices)
5 star anise pods
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp clove
15 dried Tian Jin peppers
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 1 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
MINCE the ginger, set aside
LARGE DICE the chicken thigh, then combine with all marinade ingredients and let marinate for 30 minutes
COMBINE the chicken thigh with the corn starch in a large mixing bowl, holding back as much liquid as possible
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 1 cup neutral oil and all dry spice ingredients
BLOOM the spices until fragrant for about 5 minutes, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the solids, reserving the tian jin peppers for garnish
HEAT the wok over medium high heat, then add the aromatic oil (reserving 1/4 cup)
ADD the chicken thigh 10 pieces at a time and shallow fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown
CLEAN the wok, reheat over medium low heat and dry toast 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn until fragrant, then crush into a powder with a mortar and pestle
REHEAT the wok as hot as possible, then add the remaining aromatic oil and long yao
ADD the garlic and ginger, then bloom until fragrant for about 15 seconds
ADD the chicken back to the wok, along with the reserved tian jin peppers and toss to combine
ADD the toasted Sichuan pepper through a fine mesh sieve and toss to combine
SERVE over rice with sesame seed to garnish