To celebrate the Year of the Dragon, a checkered chicken that breathes fire through your nostrils – 02/05/2024 – Marcão’s Recipes

Next Saturday (10), in the middle of Carnival, is also New Year. For the Chinese, this date celebrates the passage into the Year of the Dragon – there are 12 animals that take turns on the calendar.

I decided to make a dish that, although not typical of New Year, is the best known in Chinese cuisine: checkered chicken. The best known and most modified, around the world, in restaurants operated by the Chinese themselves.

Let’s make the original checkered chicken, typical of Sichuan province in western China. No peppers, no onions, no carrots.

Use pepper in a respectable quantity. Sichuan is famous for its deadly spicy dishes. In the Sichuan repertoire, checkered chicken is a mild dish in pepper.

In the United States and Europe, this dish is called kung pao chicken, sometimes transliterated as gong bao. The name honors a Sichuan governor from imperial times – kung pao means “guardian of the palace”.

During communist times, the reference began to catch on badly. The name changed to “diced chicken.” This was the name that arrived in Brazil, translated as “chess”.

The most important thing about this and many Chinese recipes is the speed of preparation over high heat. Leave everything ready to throw in the frying pan.

And, to maintain the juiciness of the chicken pieces, it is essential to previously coat them in cornstarch (cornstarch) and water. This cover will keep the moisture inside the meat when frying.

Some very peculiar ingredients can be purchased in oriental markets or, where they are not available, online. Either way, there are acceptable substitutes.

The most important of these ingredients is Sichuan pepper, a dried berry with a citrus aroma that numbs the tongue. Coriander seed is similar in flavor, but doesn’t have the electric feel.

If you want to make checkered chicken festive, swap the rice for noodles as a side dish: the long strands represent longevity and, they say, bring good luck.

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CHICKEN CHEESE

Performance: two portions

Difficulty: average

Ingredients

1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns (or coriander seeds)

Dried peppers to taste, without seeds and in large pieces (or fresh peppers)

300 g chicken thighs or breast, cut into 2 cm cubes

3 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon sesame oil (or vegetable oil)

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons of Chinese vinegar (or balsamic)

1 teaspoon of Chinese culinary wine (or sake)

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon grated ginger

6 stalks of chives (or young leeks), in 2 cm pieces

2 tablespoons roasted skinless peanuts

Way of doing

1. In a bowl, mix the chicken with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 teaspoon of water. Stir until the liquid disappears. Add the sesame oil and stir a little more. Reserve.

2. In another bowl, make the sauce: mix soy sauce, vinegar, wine, sugar, cornstarch and remaining water. Reserve.

3. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan. Fry the peppers for 1 or 2 minutes.

4. Add the chicken and sauté, stirring with a spatula, until the liquid in the pan dries up. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Sauté for another 2 minutes.

5. Mix the sauce and pour it into the stew. When it thickens, turn off the heat, mix in the peanuts and serve the chicken with rice.

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