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.

The recipe will be out on October 29, 2021, so bookmark the recipe here, bookmark the stream here, and pick up the ingredients below if you want to follow along and cook dinner with me.

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