#Szechuan chicken free#

As long as it’s delicious, nobody complains. Instead, they simply name a somewhat spicy chicken dish after the province and move on. There’s no real hard and fast rule that people use to determine whether or not a dish is “Szechuan” when they make their menu.

The exact contents of your Szechuan chicken will vary quite a lot depending on where you are and who’s making it. It’s usually mixed with various stir-fried vegetables, like green peppers, carrots, and dried red chilis. In America, Szechuan chicken is a fried chicken dish that’s tossed with a spicy glaze, often red.

From my experience, the dish you’re looking for is called “ mala chicken,” although even that has some pretty stark differences from the Szechuan chicken you might pick up at the local Chinese restaurant. There’s no specific dish that you would ask for in Sichuan called “Szechuan chicken.” Instead, you might ask for deep-fried spicy chicken, three pepper chicken, or even Kung Pao chicken. Szechuan cooking is famous within China for the bold use of both garlic and peppers as well as the use of two particularly distinctive ingredients: the Szechuan chili and the Szechuan peppercorn. It’s traditionally been a culinary powerhouse, with a wide-reaching influence on the cuisine of the entire eastern coast of China. The province of Sichuan (often spelled Szechuan by Westerners) is located in the geographical center of China. How tough is it to make real Szechuan chicken at home? And most importantly, what ideas can you “borrow” from the more authentic recipe to make your Asian chicken stir fry recipes a little bit more interesting? Here’s everything that I learned about Szechuan chicken and why I think it’s so special.

#Szechuan chicken free#

Instead, there are simply two regional variations that you’re free to choose between.

There’s no real “correct” Szechuan chicken. On the other hand, the real Chinese Szechuan chicken is practically bursting with unique spices and presented in a very quirky way that forces your guests to really get to know the dish. Our Americanized stir-fry recipes were accessible, flavorful, and easy to make with ingredients I could pick up at the normal supermarket. I quickly came to realize that there were merits to both styles of food. Nevertheless, as the topic of our discussion steered towards my favorite dishes, I was still shocked when he asked me what I meant by “Szechuan chicken.” Over the next couple of weeks, he did his best to transcribe many Szechuan recipes so that I could learn what authentic Chinese food was really about. I had known before our conversation that the takeout I enjoyed after a hard day’s work was not quite the same as the food he might find in a local restaurant. We spent a great deal of time exchanging messages over a period of several months. I had purposefully reached out through a cooking forum to a member who lived in Taiwan in order to ask a specific question about a mother sauce.

Serve with poached or steamed broccoli.įit Factor: Not only is this recipe leaner and lighter than its takeout version (we’re talking a tiny fraction of the fat), but it also has significantly less sodium, meaning you won’t end up feeling ridiculously bloated.I remember chatting with an online acquaintance several years ago. Pour sauce over chicken and finish in oven at 325˚ for 15 minutes.ĥ. Sear chicken breast in sauté pan over medium heat with oil until browned.Ĥ. Combine Sriracha, dijon, garlic, chicken stock and soy sauce in a bowl and whisk.ģ. Add chicken breast and refrigerate for 12 hours.Ģ. Make the brine: Combine water, sugar and salt in a bowl. So Schulson dropped 30 pounds by cutting out his three daily triple espressos and most red meat, white flour and sugar-and eating more dishes like this one. After waking up one morning exhausted after eight hours of sleep, he realized something needed to change. Schulson-a master of Asian cuisine who runs Izakaya in Atlantic City, Sampan in Philadelphia and the new Saint James Place in the Philly suburbs-completely changed his diet and exercise regime last year. It will probably hit your table quicker than delivery anyway, and it won’t leave you with that grease hangover. The next time you come home exhausted from work and are tempted to pick up the phone to order some Chinese takeout, make this Lightened-Up Szechuan Chicken from chef Michael Schulson instead.