This is a dish that I discovered at a local restaurant named Sichuan Cafe in Cleveland’s Chinatown area. The menu calls it Savory Hot Chicken. Basically, it seems to be a variation on the Chinese dish La-zi-ji or Chongqing Mala Chicken. The restaurant serves two versions: Savory Hot Chicken and Savory Hot Diced Chicken. We REALLY prefer the former, which has a light potato starch breading. We call it “Crack Chicken” because we just can’t stop eating it, and suddenly, the platter is empty. It has light, crispy little chunks of chicken and is a bit like eating popcorn – tossed with ginger, garlic, scallions, cilantro, and LOTS of chilis.
The usual first step is to marinate the chicken, lightly bread it in potato starch, and deep fry it. Since I making this on a weeknight evening after work, I decided to take a shortcut. So I tossed a bag full of Trader Joe’s gluten free breaded chicken nuggets into the oven to start.
While it baked, I chopped up and/or prepped the other ingredients and made a salad and some sesame dressing to go with it. A couple of minutes before the chicken was done, I tossed the rest of the ingredients in a wok and PRESTO, dinner!
- 1 bag frozen breaded chicken nuggets
- 1/2 cup Sichuan Chilis
- 3-4 Tbs Ginger Root, pealed and finely diced.
- 6-8 cloves Garlic, coarsely diced (don’t use a garlic press for this one)
- 3-4 Tbs Canola Oil
- 1 Tbs Sichuan Chili Oil
- 2 tsp coarsely ground Sichuan peppercorns
- Salt
- 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Scallions
1) Bake the chicken according to the package instructions (or if you prefer marinate some diced chicken in soy and rice wine, bread it in potato starch, and deep fry it until crispy).
2) While the chicken cooks, soak the chilis in some warm water. Chop/dice the ginger, garlic, cilantro, and scallions. Grind the Sichuan peppercorns.
3) About 5-7 minutes before the Chicken is ready, drain the chilies.
4) About 3 minutes before the Chicken is ready, heat the Canola oil in a wok. Add the chilis and stir fry until they start to darken
5) Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry a minute or two.
6) Add the Sichuan Chili Oil and Sichuan Peppercorns, stir and turn off the heat.
7) Add the chicken nuggets. Give it a good toss, sprinkle with the salt and toss again.
8) Add most of the cilantro and scallions, give it a toss and plate it to serve. Garnish with the remaining cilantro and scallions.
Uncompromising Flavors 