According to the book "Delicious and Nutritious Dishes" (Women's Publishing House), this dish is famous for its explosive flavor from crispy chicken, the spicy taste of chili and the aroma of ginger and garlic. For best results, use quality dried chili.
Materials
Chicken meat
- 1/2 young chicken (about 400 - 500g), chop into bite-sized pieces.
- 20g whole dried chili peppers, cut in half or leave whole.
Chicken marinade
- 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce.
- 1 tablespoon white wine or cooking wine.
Spices for sauces
- 1 teaspoon sugar.
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce.
- 1/2 teaspoon fragrant vinegar.
- A little sesame oil.
- 1 - 2 tablespoons filtered water or broth.
Flavoring spices
-20g minced garlic, 15g shredded or minced ginger, chopped scallions, 1 tablespoon wheat flour or cornstarch for chicken gizzard, Roasted white sesame seed for decoration.
Implementation
Step 1: Pre-processing and marinating chicken
After cleaning the chicken, pat it dry and chop it into small pieces about 2-3cm long.
Put the chicken in a bowl, add salt, soy sauce and cooking wine. Mix well and marinate for at least 30 minutes to let the meat absorb the spices.
Before frying, add flour or cornstarch and mix well to create a thin coat on the outside of the chicken.
Step 2: Fry chicken for the first time
Heat the oil in a pan to medium-high heat.
Fry the chicken until the outer shell is firm and turns pale yellow. Take it out to drain the oil and rest for a few minutes.
Step 3: Fry chicken for the second time
Continue to heat the oil hotter than the first time.
Add the fried chicken and fry quickly for about 1 minute until the shell is golden brown and crispy. Take out and drain the oil.
This is an important secret to help chicken keep its crispness for a long time after processing.
Step 4: Stir-fry seasoning
Remove excess oil from the pan, leaving only a small amount.
Sauté ginger, garlic and dried chili until fragrant and appealing.
Meanwhile, dissolve sugar, fish sauce, fragrant vinegar, sesame oil and broth in a small bowl.
Step 5: Roast chicken
Add the crispy fried chicken to the seasoning pan.
Pour in the mixed sauce, stir quickly over high heat so that the sauce sticks evenly around each piece of chicken.
When the sauce is almost done, add scallions and stir well for about 30 seconds.
Step 6: Completion
Sprinkle roasted white sesame seeds on top, add a few drops of sesame oil if you want to enhance the aroma.
Pour the chicken out onto a plate and enjoy while it is still hot to fully feel the crispness and characteristic spicy aroma.
Tips to make dishes more delicious
Chicken should be fried twice to maximize the crunchness of the shell.
Do not add too much water when roasting chicken, avoid softening the outer shell.
The amount of dried chili can be adjusted according to your taste.
Using fragrant and quality dried chili will help the dish be more standard of Chongqing flavor.
The finished product is crispy golden chicken pieces, evenly covered with attractive spicy and fragrant spices. When enjoying, diners will feel the natural sweetness of chicken meat, the pungent spiciness of dried chili and the characteristic aroma of ginger and garlic - the factors that make up the appeal of the famous Sichuan chili roast chicken dish.
