Quick & Easy Szechuan Chicken
Szechuan Chicken. Fried chicken tossed in a sweet, savory sauce with spicy flavors and szechuan peppercorns for a mouth-tingling sensation. A Chinese main dish with bold flavors ready in 30 minutes! This serves best with rice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast or sub with skinless boneless chicken thighs
- ⅔ cup red bell pepper diced
- ⅔ cup green bell pepper diced
- ½ cup onion diced
- 20 dried red chilies or substitute with 1-2 fresh large red chillies chopped
- 5 slices ginger peeled
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or neutral oil
Szechuan Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1.5 teaspoon sichuan peppercorn powder optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- ½ cup chicken broth low sodium or substitute with cold water
Chicken Marinade
- 1.5 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 1.5 tablespoon water cold
- ½ teaspoon baking soda do not skip!
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Instructions
- Dice chicken into 1-inch pieces. Avoid making them any larger as it prevents the marinade from tenderizing (or velveting) the chicken properly. Transfer chicken pieces into a large bowl.
- Add Marinade ingredients as listed to the diced chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes (or overnight or a few hours in advance) in the fridge.
- In a small bowl, combine Sauce ingredients as listed above until well combined. Set aside.
- Add ¼ cup cornstarch to the marinated chicken and toss with tongs until diced chicken is evenly coated.
- Heat ¼ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil in a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Dip a wooden chopstick into the oil and when you see bubbles, carefully lower the coated chicken into the hot oil.
- Fry chicken until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Flip over and fry on the other side for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook the chicken. Remove and transfer cooked chicken to a plate.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan and remove the rest. On medium heat, add dried red chilies and stir fry for 20 seconds.
- Stir fry onions, ginger, and bell peppers for 30 seconds.
- Pour in sauce and simmer to thicken. Once thickened, toss back in the fried chicken. Once combined, remove off heat and serve immediately with hot rice.
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Nutrition
Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 2295mg | Potassium: 1235mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 1836IU | Vitamin C: 113mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 2mg