Chinese Chilli Chicken aka Lazijiding (辣子鸡丁）

INTRODUCTION

This is an unique recipe.. This recipe is not suitable for your family if your family cannot take spicy food. It is also not suitable if you are having dinner in a rush…However,  I called this dish a “family bonding” dish.. a dish that you need to spend time together to have the meal and it should not be a fast dinner..

This is a famous recipe in China and not my invention. This is also different from the infamous  gongbao chicken 宫保鸡丁 where there are nuts in it.  It is a Szechuan cuisine where most of its cuisines are famous for the spiciness.. In Szechuan, it is especially important to eat spicy food to “drive away” moisture in the body since Szechuan is located in a basin whereby the weather is very misty.

The uniqueness of the dish is that the chilli used is almost the same quantity as the meat and the diced meat were buried in the dried chilli.. The meat are tasty and the diner will have to pick out the meats from pool of dried chillies. Diners usually take their sweet time to dine in the restaurant and is ideal for those who are entertaining clients or friends where they eat this as snack together will Chinese wine and bear.

I first tried this dish about 20 years ago when I visited Chongqing in China.. I can remember this dish well because of the above mentioned unique characteristics.. I remembered my lips were almost swollen after finishing the entire bowl… Ha-ha . However, the taste really linger in my mouth and whenever I saw this dish being served in the restaurant, I will have the urge to order the dish.  Since my kids were only holiday 2 weeks ago, I have decided to prepare this dish for our dinner.

“Chicken with chillies (辣子鸡, pinyin: Là Zǐ Jī; literally “Spicy chicken”) is a well-known Sichuan-style Chinese dish. It consists of marinated, deep-fried pieces of chicken that are then stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and chilli peppers. The chicken and chillies are served together and diners use chopsticks to pick out the pieces of chicken, leaving the chillies in the bowl. Chicken with chillies originated near Geleshan Park in Chongqing” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_with_chilies)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adults

• 400 grams of chicken drumsticks , deboned and diced into about 2 cm cubes
• 30 grams of dried chilli, cut into about 2 cm in length
• 2 stalks of Chinese leeks, cut into small pieces
• 2 sprigs of Spring onion, cut into big chunks
• 3 cm of ginger, sliced into thick pieces
• 1 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn (hua jiao)
• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional)
• 3-4 cloves of garlics (sliced)

Chicken marinating

• 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Marinate the chicken using the above chicken marinating ingredients (Chinese cooking wine, dark soya sauce, white pepper, sugar) for at least one hour. Drain the chicken into a bowl. Keep all the marinating ingredients for later use. Otherwise, you will have to re-prepare the sauce ingredients again using the same recipe.

• Heat up about 2 cups of hot oil in a wok, when the oil is about 70% hot, stir fry the chicken for about 4-5 minutes or until the chicken exterior turn whitish. The timing will very much depends on the size of your chicken cubes. Do not overcook the chicken as the chicken will continue to cook in the next step. Drain the chicken.

Note:

• Because this is chicken drumstick meat, I did not marinate with egg white or corn flour. If you are using chicken breast, you may need to put some egg whites and corn flour together with the marinating. That will prevent the meat from over cooked and become too hard.

• Use the same oil to stir fry the chilli until crispy. In this step, reduce the heat to low. The most it will take is only 1-2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

• Pour away the excess oil and leave about 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Add the Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic, Chinese leek and spring onion. Sauté until fragrant, add the chilli and the chicken cubes and give it a quick stir. Add in the marinating juices earlier and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the juice dries up. Dish up and sprinkle with tossed sesame seeds before serving. Best served as a side dish in a standard Chinese meal.

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CONCLUSION

Don’t be frightened by the spiciness. Of course, for home cooked, house chefs can control the amount of chilli used. If you want to have a fast meal and less spicy, do not cut the chilli like what I did, use the whole chilli and you will have less chilli and more meat..It is also easier for you to pick the chilli away.  For me, I enjoy this meal with my wife when my kids were not at home.. It took me about 45 minutes to finish our dinner, chatting and picking the meat from the pool of chillies.. Do give it a try for this famous Chinese cuisines..

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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