Poached Chicken with Sichuan Pepper Oil, by Fuschia Dunlop
by Fuchsia Dunlop
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Easy
This is a variation on one of the eternally delicious themes of the Sichuanese and indeed the global kitchen: the spicy cold chicken salad. Here, the refreshing, lime-like zinginess of green Sichuan pepper comes to the fore. The recipe is inspired by a dish I tasted at the Sichuan provincial government restaurant (川办 chuān bàn) in Beijing a few years ago. They used fresh green Sichuan pepper berries, but as these are hard to find outside China, I’ve suggested using green Sichuan pepper oil instead.
The chicken will be most tender and silky if you poach it in the Chinese way (see note), but you can also dress leftover roast chicken (or Christmas turkey), in which case, feel free to add a little extra stock to moisten. You can use meat from a whole chicken or just the parts you prefer: I tend to use chicken thighs and drumsticks, but breast is fine too. I always like to make chicken salads with the skin to add a luscious textural dimension, but you can leave it out.
For Poached Chicken with Sichuan Pepper Oil
- 400g cold poached chicken meat, with or without skin
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
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3 tbsp finely sliced spring-onion greens
For Sauce
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1½ tbsp chicken stock or water
- 1½ tsp white sugar
- 1½ tsp Chinkiang vinegar
- 1½ tbsp chilli oil with chilli sediment
- 2 tsp green Sichuan pepper oil
How To make Poached Chicken with Sichuan Pepper Oil
- Cut the cooked chicken into chopstickable strips and pile them up in a serving dish
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Just before serving, pour the sauce over the chicken. Scatter over the sesame seeds and spring-onion greens. Mix well before eating.
How To Poach Chicken in the Chinese Way
- Let your whole chicken or chicken parts come to room temperature before you start. Find a saucepan that will hold the chicken snugly (but don’t put the chicken in it yet), then pour in enough water to immerse the chicken, and bring the water to the boil.
- Add the chicken, return to the boil and skim off any froth that rises to the surface. Add a piece of ginger and a couple of spring-onion whites, all lightly smacked to loosen them. Half-cover the pan, turn the heat down so the liquid barely murmurs and poach until just cooked: you can either use a temperature probe to check the thickest part has reached 75°C, or test by removing the chicken, inserting a skewer into the thickest part and checking that the juices run clear.
- When the chicken is ready, remove it from the pan and set aside to cool before chilling until needed.
About the author
Fuchsia Charlotte Dunlop is an English writer and cook who specialises in Chinese cuisine, especially Sichuan cuisine. She is the author of seven books, including the autobiographical Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper.
