I will have a REAL struggle to choose either Mouth-watering Chili Chicken 口水鷄 or Beef & Tripe in Chili Oil 夫妻肺片 as my appetizer whenever I go to a Szechuan restaurant. Even I go alone I can still find excuse to order an appetizer right? I can eat it “later” (5 mins later?), I can share with my roommates (while I actually live alone or when my roommates could NOT eat too spicy foods..) 😛 You can always find legit reason in order to order you favorite dish.
I found out this recipe as a combination from 小高姐 and Chef 王剛 (videos below) is easy and delicious. Definitely there is much more space for improvement!
Quick Takeaways:
- cook chicken in cold water to drain blood entirely, do not boil chicken over high heat for a long time
- save chicken soup for sauce and final touchup!
- submerge cooked chicken in cold water to preserve bouncy meat & chicken skin
- dry up chicken thigh with paper towels so they can fully soak up the sauce
RECIPE
- Chicken thigh (either bone-in or boneless; if bone-in, debone after cooking might be easier)
- ginger slices
- scallions
- cooking wine
- salt
- dried chili peppers
- Szechuan peppercorns
Sauce:
- homemade red chili oil: 5-10 tbsps dependent on your personal preference; generous amount!
- a few tsp of sesame/peanut sauce 芝麻酱花生酱
- 1-2tbsp of soy sauce 生抽
- 1tbsp of vinegar 醋
- a few tsp of sugar 糖
- ground roasted peanuts 花生
- roasted sesames 芝麻
- 1tbsp of Szechuan pepper powder 花椒粉
- 1tbsp of minced ginger 蒜末
- 1tbsp of minced garlic 姜末
- minced scallion 葱
- minced chili peppers/jalapenos (OPTIONAL) 小米辣
- a few spoon of the chicken soup
STEP 1: put chicken in cold water in pot along with a few ginger slices, scallion chunks, cooking wine 黄酒，绍兴酒，料酒都可以, a bunch of Szechuan peppercorns, few dried chili peppers
STEP 2: bring to boil then lower heat to low/medium for 15-20 mins, then turn off heat. Poke chicken meat near the bone and see if there is blood coming out; if no blood, it’s cooked
STEP 3: transfer cooked chicken thigh into cold water for ice water bath for ~15-20mins, making the skin tastes “chewy”, not too “soft”
STEP 4: scope out the floating foam, save the soup for making sauce
STEP 5: use a paper towel to dry out excessive water and cut chicken thigh into smaller pieces when sauce is prepared and ready to eat!
STEP 6: combine materials for sauce together
STEP 7: if you have cucumber, cut into thin slices and put at the bottom of the plate. Place chicken on top and pour sauce over!
READY TO SERVE!
