Szechuan Chicken
- Women`s Corner
- October 18, 2022
Szechuan chicken comes from the region of Sichuan in China and is meant to be pretty spicy. Szechuan cuisine is known for using strong flavors and especially Szechuan peppercorns, which have a very distinct and have a numbing effect. We recommend using them in this dish, but if you can't find them black peppercorns can be used, but of course won't have quite the same flavor. Most of the heat comes from the chiles so if you're sensitive to heat, feel free to cut back on some of them.
Ingredients:
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
- 1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- Freshly ground pepper, preferably Szechuan
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 tbsp. freshly minced ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
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- 2 bell peppers (red and green), chopped
- 6 dried chile peppers
- 1/2 c. low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
- Cooked white rice
Method: Place chicken and ¼ cup cornstarch into a large resealable plastic bag and season generously with pepper. Shake to coat. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add enough oil to come up 2 inches. Shake off excess cornstarch from chicken and add chicken to hot oil. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden and no longer pink, 7 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
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In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add bell peppers and cook until soft, 5 minutes, then add dried chile peppers and toast, 1 minute. Remove from heat. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil. Whisk in remaining tablespoon cornstarch and let simmer until thickened, 5 minutes.
Add chicken and sauce to skillet and toss until coated. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve over rice.
This recipe is taken from https://www.delish.com/cooking/
