Bang Bang Chicken
What a descriptive name this special dish from sichuan has! Use toasted sesame paste to give the sauce an authentic flavour, although crunchy peanut butter can be used instead. Bang bang chicken is perfect for parties and ideal for a buffet.
Ingredients
- 3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, total weight about 450g / 1lb
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2.5ml / ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 1 small onion, halved
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into thin strips
- salt and ground black pepper
For the sauce:
- 45ml / 3 tbsp toasted sesame paste
- 15ml / 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 15ml / 1 tbsp wine vinegar
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 5 x 1cm / 2 x ½in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 15ml / 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, dry fried and crushed
- 5ml / 1 tsp light brown sugar
For the chilli oil:
- 60ml / 4 tbsp groundnut oil
- 5ml / 1 tsp chilli powder
Preparation
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- Place the chicken in a saucepan. Just cover with water, add the garlic, peppercorns and onion and bring to the boil. Skim the surface, stir in salt and pepper to taste, then cover the pan. Cook for 25 minutes or until the chicken is just tender. Drain, reserving the stock.
- Make the sauce by mixing the toasted sesame paste with 45ml / 3 tbsp of the chicken stock, saving the rest for soup. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, spring onions, garlic, ginger and crushed peppercorns to the sesame mixture. Stir in sugar to taste.
- Make the chilli oil by gently heating the oil and chilli powder together until foaming. Simmer for 2 minutes, cool, then strain off the red-coloured oil and discard the sediment.
- Spread out the cucumber batons on a platter. Cut the chicken breasts into pieces of about the same size as the cucumber strips and arrange them on top. Pour over the sauce, drizzle on the chilli oil and serve.
VARIATION
Crunchy peanut butter can be used instead of sesame paste, if preferred. Mix it with 30ml / 2 tbsp sesame oil and proceed as in Step 2.
Serves 4.