Sichuan Chicken Recipe | School of Wok (2024)

Posted on Mon 28th October 2019

Sichuan or Szechuan Chicken a perfectly balanced dish with a unique taste from the Sichuan peppercorns

Cuisine

Chinese

Time

35 min

Servings

4 people

Most popular

Sichuan Chicken Recipe | School of Wok (1)

Ingredients

  • ½ onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 400g boneless chicken thighs
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 bird’s-eye chilli
  • 1 spring onion
  • 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
  • 10 dried red chillies
  • 200g cashew nuts
  • 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil

The Marinade

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • a large pinch of Chinese five-spice
  • 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 1½ tablespoons cornflour

The Sauce

  • 2 teaspoons chilli paste or chilli bean paste
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 3 tablespoons rice wine

3 tablespoons rice wine

Method

Preparation

1. Slice the onion and red pepper into fine matchsticks and the chicken into 3cm-wide strips. Put the chicken into a small mixing bowl, add the marinade ingredients and, using your hands, massage the pieces until they are evenly coated.

2. Finely chop the garlic and bird’s-eye chillies, and finely slice your spring onion. Crush the Sichuan peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or ramekin.

3. BUILD YOUR WOK CLOCK: place your sliced onion at 12 o’clock, then arrange the peppers, dried chillies, chicken bowl, crushed peppercorns, garlic, bird’s-eye chillies, sauce bowl, cashew nuts and spring onions clockwise around your plate.

Cooking

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat until smoking-hot. Add the onions, red peppers and dried red chillies and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned and slightly softened.

5. Reduce the heat to medium (so as not to burn the onions), push the veg to the side of the wok and add ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil to the centre.

6. Bring the wok back to smoking point, add the chicken and stir-fry for 3–5 minutes until golden brown on all sides.

7. Reduce the heat to medium, add the crushed peppercorns and garlic to the wok and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes, then add the bird’s-eye chillies and sauce and continue to stir-fry over medium-high heat for another 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced and is sticking to the chicken.

8. Add the cashew nuts and cook for a final 30–60 seconds, tossing the wok to combine all the ingredients well. Tip onto a large plate and scatter over the spring onion to finish. Serve.

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Sichuan Chicken Recipe | School of Wok (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook chicken in a wok? ›

Directions. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add chicken and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until starting to brown, stirring constantly.

What is Szechuan chicken sauce made of? ›

STEP 2: MAKE SZECHUAN SAUCE

While the chicken is marinating, whisk oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth, rice wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, brown sugar, ground Szechuan peppercorn, and Chinese 5 spice together in a medium bowl; set aside.

How to char chicken in a wok? ›

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to your wok and heat over charcoal. 3. Add chicken (in batches if necessary) to hot wok and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Why use a wok instead of a frying pan? ›

Woks are masters of stir-frying – their high walls and quick heating make tossing veggies and meats a breeze, cooking food fast and evenly. Frying pans, with their flat base, are perfect for sautéing and searing, where steady, even heat is needed to achieve that perfect golden crust.

What is the best oil for cooking chicken in a wok? ›

The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.

What is the difference between schezwan sauce and Sichuan sauce? ›

Sichuan sauce or as it is commonly more referred to as schezuan is one of the sauces that has been adopted in India under commonly used chinese stir fry sauces. The schezwan chutney is just schezwan sauce which has been reduced and then tempered with a spices and seasonings more customary to India.

Is Sichuan sauce the same as Szechuan sauce? ›

Nothing other than the spelling of the transliteration of the word. Szechuan is from the Wade-Giles system for translating Chinese characters into English equivalents. Sichuan is the Hanyu-Pinyin version. Pinyin is simply another system for translating Chinese characters into English equivalents.

Why is Szechuan sauce so good? ›

The Szechuan sauce is fundamental to the Szechuan cuisine and goes in most Chinese dishes. With its spicy, tangy, slightly sweet and vinegary taste, it's a burst of flavors in the mouth.

How do Chinese get their chicken so crispy? ›

The chicken is then air-dried for 10 to 12 hours before being flash-fried, then oil-poached. The skin gets its signature crispiness from 10 to 12 minutes of basting with scalding hot oil right before serving.

How do Chinese food restaurants get their chicken so tender? ›

How do Chinese Restaurants tenderise chicken?
  1. marinating in a cornstarch/cornflour sludge then deep frying or blanching in water before proceeding to cook in the stir fry.
  2. egg whites – sometimes the above method is also done using egg whites.
  3. chemical tenderiser.
  4. simple baking soda / bi carbonate method.
Feb 23, 2019

How do Chinese get chicken tender? ›

Chinese stir-fried chicken is extra tender due to the velveting technique. Chicken is sliced into thin, even-sized pieces and then marinated briefly in a mix of baking soda, cornstarch, wine, and seasoning. This seals in moisture and tenderizes the chicken.

What are the three rules of stir-frying? ›

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

What is the secret ingredient in stir fry? ›

According to Food & Wine, ketchup is the ultimate way to take the flavor of homemade stir fry up a level, thanks to its sweet and sour flavor profile. It just might be the easiest cooking hack to elevate your home cooking to that of your favorite take-out.

How do you make stir fry taste like a restaurant? ›

Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.

How long does it take chicken to cook in a wok? ›

Foolproof stir-frying: Heat a wok and pour in 1 tbsp oil. Cook the chicken for 7-10 mins, tossing until just cooked. Set aside. Pour in some more oil if you need to.

Is a wok good for frying chicken? ›

Deep frying chicken in a wok is a versatile cooking technique that allows for endless flavor variations. Whether you prefer classic fried chicken or want to experiment with different seasonings and coatings, the wok provides the perfect vessel for achieving crispy and succulent results.

How do you cook chicken in a wok without sticking it? ›

Using a non-stick or well-seasoned wok and cooking over a really high heat should cut down on the amount of oil you need. If the mixture does start to stick or burn, add 1 tbsp of water instead of extra oil. What I usually do is spray the wok with spray oil like Pam, to ensure that the chicken doesn't stick.

Can you cook meat in a wok? ›

First up are the proteins: chicken, pork, beef, tofu, seitan, shrimp, and more.. The sloped sides of a Carbon Steel Wok are ideal for maintaining a well-distributed high heat during cooking, so 4–7 minutes is a typical cook time for most proteins.

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