Author: letsplaydough

A food lover, mother and wife. A Le Cordon Bleu dropout. A former communications executive. The kitchen is my playground savoring Asian & Western dishes. I invite you to join me. Let the fun begin.

Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil 口水鸡kǒu shuǐ jī

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This is one of those dishes that you crave from Sichuan restaurant, and now you can make it at home。

Serves 3-4,  

  • 700g   chicken thighs
  • 20g    ginger, thinly sliced
  • 30g           spring onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoon   Chinese cooking wine绍兴酒
  • 1400g  water (twice of the weight of the chicken)
  • 1 teaspoon     salt
  • 1 cup          ice
  • 1 teaspoon     sesame oil 香油
  • 2 tablespoon  light soy sauce 生抽
  • 2 tablespoon  rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar) 白醋
  • 2 tablespoon  Chinkiang vinegar(or balsamic vinegar )镇江香醋
  • 5 tablespoon  Sichuan chili oil (separate recipe) 红油
  • 1/2 teaspoon   sugar
  • 1 tablespoon   roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon   chopped Cilantro for garnish

Method

  1. Add chicken thighs and water in a big pot and bring it to boil. Skim the foam from the water, add ginger, spring onion, cooking wine and salt. Turn it to low heat, cover the lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes
  2. Turn off the heat and leave the pot on the stove for another 10 minutes
  3. Plunge the chicken into iced water for 2 minutes
  4. Remove the chicken from the water. Pat dry with kitchen towel
  5. Place the chicken on a cutting board with flesh facing up
  6. Debone the chicken thighs
  7. Flip the chick thighs with skins facing up
  8. Brush the skins with sesame oil
  9. Gently slice the chicken thighs in 1cm thick
  10. Mix light soy sauce, rice vinegar, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar and Sichuan chili oil in a bowl
  11. Add 2/3 of the above sauce in a serving plate
  12. Place sliced chicken on the serving plate
  13. Pour the rest 1/3 sauce on the chicken
  14. Sprinkle cilantro and peanuts onto the chicken

Tips

  1. Keep the chick stock – it can be stored in the fridge and reused for cooking rice or other dishes.
  2. Chicken thighs can be substituted with chicken thigh fillet (leave the skin on) if you are not sure of how to debone the chicken
  3. Substitute rice vinegar with white wine vinegar if the former is not available.
  4. Substitute black Chinkiang vinegar with balsamic vinegar if the former is not available.

Sichuan Chili Oil 红油

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I happily found that all my friends, regardless of eastern or western  background, all enjoy this garlicky and numbingly spicy chili oil.

This homemade chili oil is amazing on top of noodles, rice or anything else that you want to kick up a notch. It is essential for making Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil口水鸡

Yields one and half cups,

  • 12g   dried red chili,  roughly chopped干辣椒
  • 2-3 teaspoon   Sichuan peppercorn powder现磨花椒粉, quantities variable depending on the level of your tolerance for the numbingly chili oil (I would go 3 tsp for sure)
  • 1 tablespoon     white sesame seeds白芝麻
  • 1/2 teaspoon   salt
  • 2  garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped蒜末
  • 2       spring onions, sliced into small pieces青葱
  • a bit thumb, thinly sliced 姜丝
  • 1 cup     vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon    fermented Sichuan soy bean paste 豆瓣酱

Method

  1. Mix dried chili, Sichuan peppercorn powder, white sesame seeds and salt in a bowl.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan in medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and spring onion into the oil and fry the ingredients for about 5 minutes in low heat.

3. Add fermented Sichuan soy bean paste into the oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and let the oil cool down for 2 minutes

5. Drain the cooked oil by leaving the garlic in the oil. Pour the cooked oil in the bowl (indicated in the step 1)

6. Mix the ingredients well. Done.

Tips

  1. The amount of dried chili is variable. Spiciness of the oil depends on the quantity of Sichuan peppercorn powder you add in.
  2. The chili oil can be stored and leave in the room temperature.

Chinese Beef Shank 卤牛肉

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Serves for 3-4,

  • 1000g         beef shank 牛键子肉
  • 30g              ginger生姜
  • 30g              spring onion
  • 5g                 cinnamon stick 桂皮
  • 5g                 star anise 八角
  • 1g                  clove 丁香
  • 1cup             dark soy sauce 老抽
  • 1/2cup          light soy sauce  生抽
  • 1 teaspoon   salt
  • 30g               rock sugar冰糖
  • 1000g          water (for blanching beef)
  • 1000g          water 

Method

  1. Cut the beef shank into two big equal pieces
  2. Pour 1000g water in a big pot and add the raw meat
  3. Bring it to boil for 10 minutes
  4. Remove the pot from fire. Rinse the blanched meat well
  5. Add another 1000g water in the same clean pot.
  6. Add blanched beef and all ingredients (except salt) in the pot
  7. Bring the pot to boil for 10 minutes with high heat
  8. Cover the pot and leave it on the stove for 60 minutes in low heat (add salt when meat has been cooked for 50 minutes)
  9. Remove the pot from the stove and leave the meat soak in the pot for 2 hours
  10. Remove the meat from pot and wrap them in a plastic bag
  11. Store in the fridge for 1 hour
  12. Thinly slice the meat
  13. Scoop 2 tablespoons of liquid from the pot, reheat it in a frying pan and pour into the sliced meat. Garnish the plate.

Tip

Only add salt 10 minutes before turning off the heat and the cooking is done.