Sichuan spicy chicken, we call it la zi ji (辣子鸡), which means pepper and chicken. The authentic look you will find in Sichuan province is that the whole dish is full of pepper and Hua Jiao (花椒). Looks crazy and it might scare some of you… Personally, I think it is very tasty and addictive- The chicken is salty, slightly sweet and full of warm spicy flavors. I hope you will like it too.
**LIST OF INGREDIENTS FOR SICHUAN SPICY CHICKEN**
**FOR THE SPICY CHICKEN MARINADE**
– 1 pound [454 grams] of chicken breast
– 3 tbsp of cornstarch
– 1.5 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine
– 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce
– 1 tsp of black pepper
– 1 tsp of garlic powder
– 1 tsp of sugar
– 1 tsp of five spice
– 1/2 tsp of salt
– 1/2 tsp of baking soda
**FOR STIR FRY**
– 3 cups of dried chili
– 1/4 cup of oil
– 1/4 cup of green Sichuan peppercorn
– 1/3 cup of minced garlic
– 1/3 cup of ginger strips
– A hand full of the white part of a spring onion
– Few pieces of face heaven chilies[optional]
– White sesame seeds
**STEP BY STEP**
– Cut your chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.
– Marinate it with Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, sugar, five spice, a little bit of salt, some cornstarch. Mix it until the liquid is all gone. Set that aside for 30 minutes before frying it.
– Bring the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the temperature with 1 small piece of chicken. If the chicken floats to the top and there are many bubbles coming out, it means you are good to go.
– We are going to fry the chicken twice. The first time is to cook the chicken through. The second time is to get a nice color and make the surface a bit crispy.
– Separate your chicken before you put them into the hot oil. It is very important to make sure your chicken doesn’t clump up together. Slightly push them a little bit to make sure they are fully separated.
– After a minute, you can take it out. Don’t fry it too long because pieces of chicken this small cook quickly. Let it rest for few minutes.
– Before you fry it the second time, you need to be careful with the hot oil. It will splash a lot because of the water from the first time you fry the chicken.
– You only need about 40 seconds to get it really nice.
– Take it out. Set that aside and we will start the stir fry process.
– Heat up your wok on high for 10 seconds, then turn the heat to low. Add in 1/4 cup of oil along with all the aromatics (garlic, the ginger, the white part of spring onion, Sichuan peppercorn and the face heaven chili) Give it a little stir. Then add in the red dry chilies. Mix it together.
– I like to add a tsp of salt, this will help release the flavor.
– Stir this on low heat for about 3-5 minutes. Add your chicken into the wok. Mix everything together and add a splash of water from the side of the wok. A tiny amount of water will help the chicken become infused with the flavors.
– Keep stirring it for 2 or 3 minutes. Take it out. Add some sesame seeds as garnish. You are done.
Enjoy your meal! If you have any questions about the recipes, just post a comment, will help you out as soon as possible!
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