Our travel expert/ foodie Fuchsia Dunlop has generously shared with us her authentic take on one of the most popular and widely known Chinese dishes. Get a taste for China from the comfort of your own home with this amazing Gong Bao Chicken Recipe.
Gong Bao Chicken. Photo credit: cookdiary.net
Fuchsia prepping a delicious meal
GONG BAO CHICKEN
Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts, with or without skin (300–350g in total)
3 garlic cloves
An equivalent amount of ginger
5 spring onions, white parts only
A handful of dried chilies (about 10)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
75g roasted peanuts
.
For the marinade
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
11/2 tsp potato flour
.
For the sauce
1 tbsp caster sugar
3/4 tsp potato flour
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chicken stock or water
Cooking class with Fuchsia and WildChina. Photo credit: fuchsiadunlop.com
Method
Cut the chicken as evenly as possible into 1.5cm strips, then cut these into small cubes. Place in a small bowl. Add the marinade ingredients together with 1 tbsp water, mix well and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger and chop the spring onions into chunks as long as their diameter (to match the chicken cubes). Snip the chillies in half or into sections. Discard their seeds as far as possible. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Heat a seasoned wok over a high flame. Add the oil with the chillies and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly until the chillies are darkening but not burnt (remove the wok from the heat if necessary to prevent overheating). Quickly add the chicken and stir-fry over a high flame, stirring constantly. As soon as the chicken cubes have separated, add the ginger, garlic and spring onions and continue to stir-fry until they are fragrant and the meat just cooked through (test one of the larger pieces to make sure).
Give the sauce a stir and add it to the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and shiny, add the peanuts, stir them in and serve.
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Find out more about Fuchsia and her upcoming Gastronomic Tour of China here.
