The One and Only HOT and NUMBING Chengdu Chicken!
Take the Chengdu Chicken Challenge! Enjoy a HOT and NUMBING feast characteristic of Sichuan style cooking produced by dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. The taste is wildly addictive!!!
Equipment
- Wok or large skillet
Ingredients
- ½ lb chicken breast cut into largish pieces - IF YOU PREFER YOU CAN USE 1 LB CHICKEN THIGHS INSTEAD OF ANY CHICKEN BREAST
- ½ lb chicken thighs cut into largish pieces - leave any skin on
- 5 tablespoon peanut oil split
Marinade for Chicken
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 ts sugar
- 2 ts corn starch
- ½ tablespoon ground Sichuan pepper
Sauce for Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 ts sugar
- 1 ts corn starch
- ½ ts salt
- ½ tablespoon ground Sichuan pepper
Other Ingredients For Stir Fry
- 2 inches ginger sliced thinly
- 8 cloves garlic sliced thinly
- 4 green onion chopped into 1"-2" pieces
- 2.5 cups dried Sichuan chilies add more if you dare! You can leave whole, or snip some if you prefer a spicier experience!
Optional Ingredient
- toasted peanuts chopped for garnish
Instructions
- If you have whole Sichuan peppercorn, then grind 1 tablespoon of the peppercorns using a mortar and pestle or spice or coffee/grinder. Set aside.
- Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl and stir well.
- Marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for about 30 minutes.
- Add 3 tablespoon of the peanut oil to a wok or large skillet and set your stove to high. Once the oil is smoking (it needs to be hot!) add the chicken so that each piece has its own space on the wok/skillet and doesn't crowd each other. Leave it for a bit until it browns...it shouldn't take long. You will want to check to make sure it doesn't burn. Turn the pieces over and brown the other side. Once browned, remove the chicken and set aside.
- Turn down the heat to medium and add remaining 2 tablespoon of peanut oil. When the heat is at medium, add the garlic, ginger, and scallions. Continuously stir for around a minute, and then add the whole dried chilies (or whole + snipped chilies). Stir until fragrant, about a minute or two.
- Turn the heat up back to high, and quickly add your chicken. Stir to incorporate, and then add the sauce for the stir fry (be sure to mix this sauce well just before adding to the stir fry). Stir well and the dish will be ready in a couple of minutes or less!
- Garnish with chopped and toasted peanuts if you desire!
Notes
Serve with lots of white rice and eat with your favorite chopsticks! If you prefer a less spicy meal, then reduce the amount of chilies you add to the dish OR just move them to the side instead of eating them.
If you prefer a spicier dish, then snip some of the chilies so that the seeds fall out and add that to the stir fry at the appropriate time.
Most importantly if the NUMBING part puts you off, you can reduce the amount of ground Sichuan peppercorn in this dish. You also could leave them whole rather than grinding, and stir fry them with the chicken, ginger, garlic, and scallions. Then simply avoid eating them when on the plate. :-)
Above all, enjoy the experience!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
