辣子鸡丁 Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken

I know I rave a lot about Xiao Wang Fu's (a restaurant in Beijing) food. I have posted many copycats of dishes we had there on this blog such as Crispy Lemon Chicken Breast and Dry Fried String Beans and Minced Pork, Braised Bell Pepper and Potato Slices and now their delicious Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken. The chilies are meant to be eaten and many Chinese do eat them. These chilies are the Chinese equivalent of a habanero so they have quite a bit of burn. If  you don't plan on eating the chilies you can decrease the amount to 5-10 chilies. That number will be sufficient to infuse the oil with chili flavor, just one of many wonderful flavors that combine in this dish.

I set up my photo shoot on a lazy susan and my 3 year old daughter was entertaining herself by spinning it around and around. The spinning actually looks pretty cool in the pictures, I think so anyway, what do you think?

2 Lbs. boneless skinless chicken meat, cut into bite size pieces
56 g bag of dried Sichuan chili's ( found at Asian groceries)
2 star anise
1 tsp. sichuan peppercorns ( found at Asian groceries)
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch of ginger, julienned
5 green onions, cut into small pieces
1/2-1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

Chicken Marinade
2 Tbsp. garlic chili sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine
2 Tbsp. Chinkiang or Chinese black vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 inch of ginger, julienned

2 cups starch (corn, tapioca or sweet potato starch (fine texture))

Option 1: Dry Seasonings (Xiao Wang Fu copycat)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Chinese chili powder ( found at Asian groceries)

Option 2: Wet Seasonings
2 tbsp. garlic chili sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice wine
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. white pepper powder
1 tsp. starch

Cut chicken into bite size pieces.

Mix together 2 Tbsp. garlic chili sauce, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice wine, 2 Tbsp. chinese black vinegar, 1 tsp. sesame oil and 1 inch of ginger, julienned. Pour over chicken and stir in. Allow to marinate for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile slice 5 cloves garlic, julienne a 1 inch piece of ginger and cut 5 green onions into small pieces.

Place 2 cups of cornstarch in a bag or on a plate. coat each piece of marinated meat individually in starch.

Heat oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. fry chicken pieces untl golden brown and cooked through. You may have to adjust the heat if they are browning before the chicken is cooked through as temperature will vary in different stove tops and heat sources.

Get ready 56 grams dried chinese chilies, 1 tsp. sichuan peppercorns and 2 star anise. If you want more heat on the chicken then chop the chilies into 2 cm. pieces. Another optional seasoning you can add is about 1/2-1 Tbsp. sesame seeds.

Heat a wok over medium low heat. The heat must be low so the chilies don't burn. Add  1 Tbsp. oil then add garlic, ginger, chilies, sichuan peppercorns and star anise. Stir-fry until fragrant.

Add in popcorn chicken and toss.

Add either Dry Seasonings ingredients or Wet Seasonings ingredients (choose one or the other) and green onions and toss. I am using the Dry Seasoning in these pictures.

Remove to a serving platter. Taste great both hot or cold.

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