hello! Hi everyone, Wesley hwere. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with a Sichuan chicken, or "laziji". For those following along, a few weeks back we dove into the deceptively mysterious dish that we all know and love (but don't really understand what it is), known as Hunan chicken, defined by its use of fermented black bean in a heavily reduced sauce base. After doing a bit of research on this dish, it led me down the rabbit hole in sorting out not only exactly what...IS Hunan chicken, but also, how does it differ from its contemporaries, such as Sichuan chicken? And so, here we are.
For those piecing this mystery together along with me, the Sichuan "laziji" or literally, "spicy chicken," is sometimes referred to as Mala chicken, and has a few unique qualities to it that set it apart from other chicken dishes. Probably most obviously, it is defined by the inclusion of the Sichuan peppercorn, which gives the dish (as with most Sichuan cuisine) its unique numbing spice quality. In addition to this though, Sichuan chicken is specifically defined by its use of dried Tian Jin peppers. Those following along may likely have seen these peppers come up in all sorts of contexts on this channel (both in stir fries as well as chili oils, garnishes, and everything inbetween). For our dish today, however, we're going to capitalize on the wonderful aromatic qualities of these peppers by simmering them in oil to draw out their aromatics, then frying our chicken in that oil to impart those spicy qualities. Hope you try it.
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0:00 Hello Hi Everyone!
1:58 Mise En Place (veggies)
2:22 Mise En Place (chicken)
3:21 Mise En Place (spices)
4:00 On The Stove (spices)
4:45 On The Stove (chicken)
5:25 On The Stove (stir fry)
4:08 On The Stove (steep)
6:16 Let's Eat!
7:12 Thanks For Watching!