Thursday 11 December 2014

Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry


Yet another great recipe courtesy of Goons with Spoons! I made a few changes for my version (not all of them intentional). I'll share my take here. Or rather... what I would've done if I'd not been so discombobulated when preparing dinner tonight.

Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry
100g slivered almonds
500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 lotus root
3 small heads Shanghai bok choy
4 green onions
1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorns
3 fresh red Thai chiles
3 dried red chiles (de arbol)
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. ginger paste
1 generous Tbsp. Laoganma
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. black vinegar
1/4 c. pork stock
cornstarch slurry (1 Tbsp. cold water + 1 tsp. cornstarch)

1. Chop the chicken into small cubes and toss in whatever marinade you prefer. (I used a couple splashes of shaoxing wine combined with some light soy and a bit of sesame oil and white pepper.)
2. Chop the lotus root and set aside. Chop the bok choy and green onions and set aside. Mince the garlic and chiles and combine with the Laoganma, Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger paste and set aside. Combine the sugar, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, black vinegar, and pork stock and set aside. Mix the cornstarch slurry and set aside.
3. Lightly fry/toast the nuts in a little oil.
4. Heat wok over high and add a bit of oil. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it releases some liquid and most of the liquid has cooked off. Set the chicken aside and give the wok a rinse.
5. Heat the wok back up and add a touch more oil. Toss in the aromatics (Laoganma, chiles, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger). Stir around for a few seconds (15-30), then add the lotus root.
6. Stir fry the lotus root for a minute or so, then add the bok choy and green onion. (Add a bit of water if the wok is too dry.)
7. Once the bok choy has wilted, return the chicken and nuts to the wok and give it a stir. Stir in the sauce followed by the cornstarch slurry and allow it to thicken the sauce a bit.
7. Serve over rice (with more Laoganma if desired).

I was planning on toasting ~100g of slivered almonds and using them in place of the peanuts, but I plum forgot! I missed adding the Sichuan peppercorns as well, sadly. And I was running a bit short of green onions, so I only had three, rather than the four I would've preferred. Still came out quite tasty though! And I found it to be a nice level of heat as well.

If I were to do this again, I think I'd consider adding a few more vegetables. Another small head of bok choy certainly wouldn't go amiss and I think a red bell pepper might be a nice addition as well. The lotus root gives a nice, slightly crisp texture and I think the nuts would've been excellent in it as well if I'd remembered to add them!

Also, a note on Laoganma: I normally consider "spicy chili crisp" to be the default type if the recipe doesn't specify. However, the Asian supermarket I normally go to doesn't seem to stock that variety anymore, so I decided to try one of the other products in the line. The black bean type that I have now seems to be working out pretty well so far. The texture is markedly different than the usual "crisp", but it does have a pretty similar flavour and heat level, so I consider it a reasonable substitute. Feel free to experiment with other varieties of Laoganma as you see fit! I'm told they're all delicious!

My brain's kind of fried tonight, so I won't say much more about this one. Very tasty! I definitely want to try making this on again sometime!

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