Inspired by Gary's latest posts on the
Szechuan Poached Chicken thread and my recent, post-pandemic reunion with Chinese celery, I decided to take a stab at a Sichuan-style shredded chicken salad. First up, the Hong You-style chile oil . . .
Chile Oil Mise En Place & Shigeki Tanaka SG2 Damascus Habakiri Gyuto, 210mmPlate 1: Garlic
(later smashed), cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, black cardamom, star anise and ginger
(also later smashed).
Plate 2: Sichuan peppercorns and dried Chinese-style chiles.
Back row: Canola oil, salt and soy sauce.
Plate 1 ingredients get heated in the canola oil until the garlic gets lightly browned, after which everything goes into a jar with the peppercorns, smashed chiles, soy sauce and salt. Let that steep for 24 hours.
Hong You Chile OilA beautifully aromatic and flavorful elixir.
Next up, preparing the poached chicken . . .
Chicken Mise En Place & Kanjo Kori R2 Petty Knife, 120mmSliced ginger, garlic
(later smashed), slitted red jalapeno, leek tops
(freezer stock), Shaoxing wine and chicken breasts.
When it comes to chicken, I normally do not choose breast/white meat but since I planned on serving this cold, I thought it might be a better fit here, and it worked out great. Everything goes into a pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring it to a boil for 15 minutes. Turn it off and let it cool until you're ready to remove the meat from the bones.
Full Mise En Place & Shigeki Tanaka SG2 Damascus Habakiri Gyuto, 210mmChinese celery stalks, sesame paste, roasted/salted peanuts, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, minced ginger, toasted Sichuan peppercorns
(later ground into a powder), salt/sugar/msg, gochugaru, mature black vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, minced scallions, Chinese celery leaves, Hong You chile oil and poached chicken.
Pretty straightforward prep from here. Make a non-emulsified dressing with most of these ingredients then mix it into the the roughly shredded chicken, then add peanuts, celery, cilantro and scallions.
Ready To ServeI was surprised by how much four chicken breasts yielded. This is a pretty big bowl.
Plated UpAbout the same pic as above. I threw a few extra peanuts on but there was so much going on here, there really was no reason to garnish it. This was a really great dish, bursting with bold, intense flavors and a satisfying variety of textures. Can't wait to make it again.
=R=
Same planet, different world