China · Sichuan

Dry-Fried Chicken with Potato

Name: Dry-Fried Chicken with Potato
Prep time: 34 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 52 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Sichuan
Ingredients: chicken thigh meat 400 g; potato 200 g; green pepper 60 g; garlic cloves 10 g; salt 3 g; chicken bouillon 3 g; ground white pepper 2 g; light soy sauce 5 g; dark soy sauce 2 g; cooking wine 5 g; cornstarch 20 g; Pixian red oil bean paste 40 g; sugar 30 g; crushed Sichuan pepper 2 g

Twice-fried chicken and potato tossed in a sweet, spicy bean paste glaze with crisp green pepper.

52 minutes · 4 servings · Moderate

This version comes from the cafeteria of Peking University, where a Sichuan stir-fry was rebuilt sweet and spicy for a student audience. Dry-frying the chicken and the potato separately, and twice each, is what keeps the potato intact and the crust brittle. The sauce is a reduction of bean paste and sugar rather than a gravy, so it clings instead of pooling.

Ingredients

chicken thigh meat400 g
potato200 g
green pepper60 g
garlic cloves10 g
salt3 g
chicken bouillon3 g
ground white pepper2 g
light soy sauce5 g
dark soy sauce2 g
cooking wine5 g
cornstarch20 g
Pixian red oil bean paste40 g
sugar30 g
crushed Sichuan pepper2 g

Directions

1
Debone the chicken thighs; this step can be skipped if you are using thigh fillets. Pound the meat once with the back of the knife and cut it into two-centimeter pieces.
2
Add the salt, chicken bouillon if you like, white pepper, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and cooking wine to the chicken and mix by hand; when it turns tacky, add the starch and mix, then add a little oil to keep the pieces from sticking. Marinate for thirty minutes.
3
Peel the potato, cut it into two-centimeter pieces, boil for five minutes and drain, so it does not explode in the oil.
4
Deseed the green pepper and cut it into two-centimeter pieces, and set it aside in a strainer.
5
Add plenty of oil to the wok, enough to cover the food, and when it reaches one hundred eighty degrees fry the potato for three minutes and lift out.
6
When the oil comes back to one hundred eighty degrees, add the chicken, fry for two minutes and lift out.
7
When the oil comes back to one hundred eighty degrees, fry the chicken again for one minute and lift out.
8
When the oil comes back to one hundred eighty degrees, fry the potato for one minute more, then pour off the oil and potato through the strainer, letting the green pepper in the strainer cook through from the hot oil.
9
Add five milliliters of oil to the wok and fry the garlic over low heat until yellow, then add the Pixian bean paste and fry until fragrant, then the sugar until melted, then the crushed Sichuan pepper, and add forty milliliters of water, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.
10
Add the fried chicken, potato and green pepper, toss to combine and serve.

Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.