Chili Pepper Chicken (辣子鸡) is literally Chicken with dried Chili Peppers, popular in Sichuan and Chongqing area. Its spiciness is extreme as the fried chicken cubes are served with large quantities of dried chili peppers. The peppers are used so much for this dish that you have to pick out the chicken cubes from the piles of peppers presumably using your chopsticks digging in the serving plate. The dish is also featured with vivid bright bloody-red color from the chili peppers. The Chili Pepper from Sichuan is key to this dish as it carries the perfect balance between the spicy taste and the aroma. But in North America, some Mexican chili peppers could be used as well.

Although its origin is said to be Guizhou, the dish is most common in Chongqing area. The most famous diner to serve this dish is a very small restaurant in Ge Le Mountain (歌乐山) in Chongqing. If you happen to be in Chongqing, I would suggest you pay a visit and experience the extreme spiciness of Chili Pepper Chicken.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Boneless Chicken Breast - 300g

2. Dried Red Chili Pepper - 100g

3. Vegetable Oil - 80g

4. Garlic - 50g

5. Ginger -50g

6. Sichuan Pepper - 10g

7. Soy Sauce - 10g

8. Scallions, White Part - 20g

9. Chinese Rice Wine - 10g

10. Salt - 20g

Instruction:

1. Cut the boneless Chicken into 2-cm cubes and marinate with salt, rice wine, soy sauce for about 20 minutes;

2. Cut the dried Chili Pepper into 2-cm strips and try to get rid of pepper seeds if possible;

3. Cut the peeled Garlic and Ginger into thin slices;

4. Add 50g Vegetable Oil into a wok and deep fry the chicken cubes in a wok with high heat for 2-3 minutes till it becomes golden; get out the Chicken Cubes;

5. Add 30g vegetable oil into a clean work with medium heat and add Ginger slice, Garlic slice, and Sichuan pepper. Fry till the aroma comes out. Then add Red Chili Pepper and stir fry for 1 minute

6. Add the fried Chicken Cubes and mix well with Red Chili Pepper, Garlic, Ginger and Sichuan Pepper;

7. Get out to a serving plate and ready to serve.

Tips

1. Don't over fry the chili pepper as it may destroy its natural aroma. The stir-fry of ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper and chili pepper is supposed to bring out the natural aroma while keeping natural colors of these ingredients. If the chili pepper turns black, it's definitely overcooked;

2 Marinate the chicken long enough to improve the salty taste and texture. Do not use any starch on the chicken;

Buy

You can buy Chili Peppers and Sichuan Peppers to make Chili Pepper Chicken yourself by clicking the button below.