Chongqing Chicken (La Zi Ji)
Servings:
2
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Difficulty:
Medium
Ingredients
- Boneless chicken thighs: 400-500g, 2cm pieces
- Dried red chilies: 25-40, cut in halves or thirds
- Sichuan peppercorns: 1-2 tbsp
- Garlic: 3 cloves, sliced
- Ginger: 1-2 tbsp, sliced or matchsticks
- Scallion: 2, cut into 3-4cm sections
- White sesame seeds: optional garnish
- Light soy sauce: 1 tbsp
- Shaoxing wine: 1 tbsp
- Salt: ½ tsp
- White pepper: pinch
- Egg white: ½
- Cornstarch: 2-3 tbsp
- Oil: for shallow frying plus 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
- Sugar: ½ tsp
Instructions
- Marinate chicken with soy sauce, wine, salt, white pepper, egg white, cornstarch, and oil for 20-30 minutes
- Heat oil to 180°C and fry chicken in batches until golden and crisp, drain
- Pour off most oil, leave 2-3 tbsp
- On low heat, fry Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant
- Add dried chilies, stir until they darken and smell toasty
- Add ginger and garlic, then scallion segments
- Return fried chicken, toss quickly on high heat with chili and peppercorn
- Sprinkle with salt and sugar, toss to coat
- Garnish with sesame seeds, serve with plenty of rice