Szechuan Chicken
4 servings. Spicy Szechuan chicken stir fry made with Szechuan (Sichuan) peppers for that tongue-tingling heat and plenty of dried red chillies!
Ingredients
- 8boneless chicken thighs (chopped into bitesize chunks)
- 1 tbspdark soy sauce
- 1 tbsplight soy sauce
- 1 tbspchinese rice wine
- ¼ tspwhite pepper
- 2 tbspcornflour (cornstarch)
- 240 mlsunflower oil
- 1 tbspsesame oil
- 1onion (peeled and chopped into chunks)
- 25dried red chillies (chop 5 of them into small pieces and leave the rest whole)
- 1 ½ tspsichuan peppercorns (ground using a pestle and mortar (the 1 1/2 tsp is measured before grinding))
- 3 clovesgarlic (minced)
- 2 tspminced ginger
- 5spring onions (scallions roughly chopped)
- 2 tbsplight soy sauce
- 1 tbspchinese rice wine
- 1 tbspchilli bean paste (*see note)
- 1 tbspsugar
Directions
- 1
Place the chicken pieces in a bowl with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Stir together, cover and marinade for 30 minutes (or up to a couple of hours – place in the refrigerator if marinating for more than 30 minutes).
- 2
Heat the oil (reserving 1 tbsp for later) over a medium-high heat in a large frying pan.
- 3
Add the chicken, a piece at a time (you may need to work in 2 batches), and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning a couple of times, until golden.
- 4
Remove from the pan and place on a plate.
- 5
Heat the reserved 1 tbsp of sunflower oil along with 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a wok over a medium-high heat.
- 6
Add the onion and dried chillies and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the onion starts to soften slightly.
- 7
Add in the ground Sichuan peppers and fry for a further minute.
- 8
Add in the garlic, ginger, and spring onions and stir fry for a further 30 seconds.
- 9
Add in the soy sauce, rice wine, chilli bean paste, and sugar. Stir together and fry for another minute.
- 10
Add in the cooked chicken and toss everything together, heating for a further minute or two until the chicken is hot.
- 11
Serve with boiled rice.