Szechuan Peppercorn Chicken

This is a wonderful summer dish and I was holding off posting it until the weather warms up but the forecast for tomorrow is 80 degrees!  So even though it’s April, I feel I’m not jumping the gun in bringing you this amazing combination of Szechuan peppercorns, shredded chicken enrobed in a succulent sauce and the highly underrated cold crisp iceberg lettuce. (Serves 6-8)

Ingredients

2 whole chicken breasts with skin and bone (4 pieces)

2 slices fresh ginger root

1 stalk scallion

1 T light corn syrup

1 T dark soy sauce

1 T hoisin sauce

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

¼ cup peanut oil

¼ cup chopped scallion (green and white parts)

1 T minced ginger root

1 t Szechuan peppercorns (crushed with the broadside of a cleaver)

¼ t crushed chile pepper flakes

4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

Directions

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a sauce pan.  Turn flame to medium and simmer chicken breasts along with ginger and scallion for 15 minutes.  Turn flame off and let chicken cool in the water for 20 minutes.  Skin chicken and pull off bone into shreds.  Place in serving bowl.

Mix corn syrup, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and garlic.  Set aside.  Heat peanut oil, scallion, ginger, Szechuan peppercorns and crushed chile pepper flakes to boiling.  Simmer for one minute.  Add corn syrup mixture and combine.

Add lettuce to shredded chicken.  Pour sauce over all and toss just before serving.  Serve cold.

Adapted from classes with Grace Chu

Photo by sweetpaprika