I crave this dish all the time and always wanted to learn how to make it. I made a modified version of this recipe that I found online and it hit the spot. I didn't have all the ingredients so I used what I had and it still came out great. I will write my simplified version below the link.
Ingredients:
2-4 celery stalks, halved and sliced (I like more celery in this dish, but it's actually not mandatory.)
2-3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil (peanut or vegetable oil is fine)
2 Tablespoons chili paste (sambal olek)
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing)
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn (optional)
Instructions:
1. Coat the chunks of chicken with the cornstarch. You can put it all in a plastic bag and shake it, or just use a bowl and mix it all together.
2. Heat a wok and put the canola oil in it. When the oil is hot, dredge the chicken chunks in the egg and fry them until they are crispy, brown, and dry.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add chili paste. Stir until it turns the oil red. Add rice wine, dark soy sauce, ground Sichuan peppercorns (if using them), and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the chicken looks evenly coated and dry.
4. Add the celery slices and stir fry until they are tender and hot. Turn off heat, add the sesame oil, and season with salt to taste. Stir well to distribute the sesame oil and salt.
Serve with white rice.
A local Sichuanese restaurant that I order from makes this dish but puts in thinly sliced carrot and chunks of a very spicy light green hot pepper (maybe an Anaheim chile?) instead of celery. And the standard way to make this that I've seen is to just cook the chicken like above and then smother it in tons and tons of dried red chilies. I figure that as long as the chicken is cooked right, you can make whatever version you'd like.
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