Hello hi everyone! Wesley here.Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to deconstructing Chinese American classics with a shot at the PF Chang’s Singapore Black Pepper Chicken. For those new to the series, we have actually done a number of Chinese American classics already, (including a shot at the Mongolian Beef from PF Chang’s not too long ago). What we’ll be doing today is deconstructing what makes these dishes “tick,” and then identify what are the Americanized aspects going on, and try and reconstruct the dish through the lens of more traditional wok cooking. Now, fortunately for us, PF Chang’s has actually published this recipe for us to take a look at, and it’s honestly, pretty bland looking (mostly a combination of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar), so I’m feeling pretty confident that we can do…decently better. 

So for our version today, we’re gonna stay fairly true to the original with the inclusion of some flash cooked sweet white onion, green bell pepper, and red Fresno peppers. But then we’ll be deviating a bit by tossing that in a bright, umami forward dark soy sauce base, and finally rounding all of that out with what I think is the most iconic part about this dish, which is some steamed chicken, for some of the most tender, aromatic, lacy, and juicy bits of chicken that you will ever create. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 2-3 medium chicken thighs

  • 2 Fresno chile peppers

  • 1 green bell pepper

  • 1/2 medium white onion

  • 1/2 cup cilantro

  • 4 cups water

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce

  • black pepper

  • 1 tbsp corn starch

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger


INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • PEEL and mince the ginger, set aside

  • SLICE the Fresno peppers, set aside

  • LARGE DICE the green bell pepper, set aside

  • LARGE DICE the onion, set aside

  • SEPARATE the cilantro from their stems, set aside

  • SLICE the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces, then combine with all marinade ingredients in a heatproof bowl, set aside

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • BOIL a pot of water, then set a steam basket (or upside down heatproof bowl) at the bottom, place the marinated chicken in a heatproof bowl on top, cover and steam for 10 minutes

  • HEAT a wok as hot ass possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil, and long yao

  • ADD the garlic, then bloom until fragrant for about 10 seconds

  • ADD the bell pepper and Fresno peppers to the wok, toss for 1-2 minutes

  • ADD the onion and chicken to the wok, toss for 1-2 minutes to combine

  • ADD the sauce to the wok 1-2 tbsp at a time, and season to taste

  • REMOVE from heat, finish with black pepper and cilantro

 

tagged with woo can cook, pf chang’s, singapore, black pepper chicken, chinese food, chinese american food