Spicy fried chicken bites are drenched in a hot Szechuan sauce and tossed with thin noodles for a delicious meal in a bowl. Served with an aromatic and nutty chili oil oozing with umami flavor, this is your favorite Chinese takeout style meal done right at home!
You will need:
For chili oil,
Oil - 1 cup (either vegetable or canola oil)
Chili flakes - 2 tbsp, heaped
For the fried chicken,
Chicken - ½ lb, boneless
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Ground sichuan peppers - 1 tsp (see Notes)
Egg white - 1, beaten
Cornstarch - ½ cup
Oil - 3-4 tbsp
For the sauce,
Chili paste - 2 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Rice wine - 2 tbsp (see Notes)
Water or chicken stock - 3 tbsp
Cornstarch - 1 tsp
For stir fry & noodle bowl,
Chili oil - 2 tbsp
Green onion - 2 stalks, chopped
Garlic - 6 cloves, smashed
Ginger - 1 tbsp, grated
Dried red chilies - 8-10
Carrots - ¼ cup, julienned (optional)
Snap peas - 8-10, steamed (optional)
Noodles - 4 oz (see Notes)
How to:
Chili oil: Take oil and chili flakes in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Oil should be a deep red color and smell nutty. Cool completely and store in glass jars. This oil should keep well for several weeks.
Marinating and frying chicken: Cut chicken into small pieces. Mix well with marinade ingredients (soy sauce, ground peppers and egg white). Rest for 10-15 minutes.
Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a wok or deep skillet till it shimmers. Lightly dredge the chicken pieces in cornstarch, shake off excess and drop in the oil. Cook till crisp and browned on one side, then cook the other side. Drain and set aside on a plate. Remove any excess oil from pan.
Stir-fry & Noodle bowl: Prepare noodles as per package instructions. Set aside. You can toss cooked noodles with a few drops of sesame oil and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Mix sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Heat chili oil in a large wok. Add white parts of chopped green onions, garlic and ginger and saute for a few seconds.
Add dried red chilies and toss on medium heat so that they do not burn. Add carrots and snap peas and saute till tender-crisp.
Now return the fried chicken to the wok along with prepared sauce. Toss to coat chicken with sauce and allow sauce to thicken. Immediately stir in the cooked noodles.
Pile onto bowls and serve warm drizzled with more chili oil and a sprinkling of chopped green onions.
Notes:
1. If you cannot find ground sichuan peppercorns, use white or black pepper powder. 2. If you cannot find cooking rice wine, use rice vinegar plus a tablespoon of sugar. You can also use white vinegar in a pinch, but reduce the amount as it is stronger than rice vinegar. 3. I like to add some vegetables to my stir-fries for color, texture and taste. You may omit them entirely or replace with your favorite vegetables. 4. The noodles that you use is a matter of personal preference. But I do find that thin egg noodles work best in this recipe. 5. You can make a big batch of chili oil and store it for several weeks. You can also multi-task and cut your hand-on time by cooking the noodles while frying the chicken.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2017/06/08/spicy-szechuan-chicken-noodle-bowl/