Hot and Spicy Braised Chicken with and Potatoes

中文：大盘鸡

This is one of the most popular dishes in my family.  Every single time I make it, the whole dish would be finished really fast.  The traditional way to enjoy it is to serve the chicken in a large bowl first; and when chicken is half gone, toss the remaining spicy sauce with wide and thin homemade noodles.  It is so good that right now I am literally drooling when I am typing the recipe. O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

1 small/ medium size chicken
3 to 4 medium size potatoes
4 to 6 jalapeno peppers (substitute with 1 green bell pepper if you are not into spicy food)
4 to 6 fresh chili peppers (optional)
4 to 5 tablespoons Pixian spicy fermented bean paste (available in most Asian grocery stores)
1 to 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns (available in most Asian grocery stores)
1 1/2to 2 tablespoons sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 can room temperature beer
1 handful of dried red chilies
2 gloves of garlic
1 small piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 to 2 star anises
2 to 3 pieces of dried rhizoma
2 to 3 clovers
5 to 6 tablespoons cooking oil
salt to taste
 

Directions:

Pixian spicy fermented bean paste is one of must have key ingredients in Sichuan style cooking.  You should be able to get it from Asian grocery store.  The most authentic ones are produced in Pixian area, Sichuan province, China.

Sichuan peppercorns

I grew my own fresh chili peppers in the summer time.  Can’t wait for the next summer!

Directions:

Rinse the chicken and dice it into 1 inch pieces with a sharp cleaver.

Peel the potatoes or brush them thoroughly if you would like to leave the skins on.  Cut each potato into 6 or 8 pieces. 

Coarsely chop each fresh pepper to 3 to 4 small pieces. 

Peel and thinly slice the garlic. 

Rinse the dried chilies and cut all of them into halves.

Heat the wok over high heat.  Add cooking oil, and then sugar.  When sugar turns into golden color syrup, add chicken and stir fry until chicken is golden brown too. 

Add ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, star anises, dried rhizome and clovers.  Stir fry for a couple minutes.  Add Pixian spicy fermented bean paste. 

Stir fry for another couple minutes.  Add beer.  When the broth boils, cover with lid and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add potatoes and jalapeno peppers.  Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. 

The Pixian spicy fermented bean paste is usually quite salty, so I don’t add any extra salt. 

I need my wok for another dish.  So I transfer the chicken to a Le Creuset cast iron pot to finish cooking.

Serve immediately. 

The most authentic way is to serve it with broad thin freshly made noodles.  I skip it this time.

Stir-fried Sichuan Style Pickled String Beans and Ground Pork

中文：泡豇豆炒肉末

Sichuan style pickled vegetable is super popular in Sichuan area and some other south provinces of China.   It is the foundation and soul of Sichuan style cooking.  Almost every single family in Sichuan has one or more pickled jars.  In this jar they can pickle freshly vegetables along with peppers, gingers, garlic and some other spices which differ from family to family.  Every family has their own special unique way to pickle vegetable.  It is the taste of home to them and also the secret weapon in their home cooked meals.

I brought back two pickle jars my previous trips back to China.  And I learned how to do Sichuan style pickles from my mother-in-law who has been doing it for decades.  So I am proud to say I learned from the best. O(∩_∩)O~

Sichuan style pickling is a complicate and delicate process.  I am not going to talk too much about it here.  The basic way is boil a large pot of water; let it cool down; add salt, along with high alcohol content rice wine (40% or higher), chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic and a bun of other spices.  Add 1/4 head cabbage or daikon as a starter.  In a week, the pickle juice should start to become sour but with a pleasant fragrance from vegetable fermentation. 

The best way to make Sichuan style pickles from scratch is to get some old pickle juice from a good old pickle jar.  It is the best way to achieve deep rich and delicate pickle flavor in a short time. 

Every family treats their pickle jar well with respect because the jar provides not only pickled vegetables but also a taste of home.  It is alive with soul if you treat it well.

The most common pickled vegetables are cabbage, daikon, string beans, young gingers and peppers.  Freshly string beans are very rare in Michigan where I live.  It seems like they are only available in Asian grocery store from time to time.  But most of time they are not so fresh.  So can you imagine how excited I was when I spotted some lovely freshly string beans last time I went grocery shopping in Detroit area? 

I stir fried half of the string beans and made pickles with the other half.

Rinse the string bean well.  Air-dry them on a clean rack.

Wrap every four string beans with another one.  So there are five string beans in each bunch.  It is just for the convenience to get them in and out of the pickle jar.  You don’t have to twist them the same way as I do.  It has nothing to do with flavors.

Add to the pickle jar.  Wait for about 10 days until they all turn slightly deep yellow color.

You can eat them right out of the pickle jar. It is already very tasty.

I just love to stir fry them with ground pork.  The fat from pork adds tons of flavors to the beans.

Ingredients：

5 to 6 bunches of Sichuan style pickled string beans (they are also available in Chinese grocery store if you don’t have any homemade ones)
1 pound ground pork
10 pickled chili peppers
6 to 8 dried chili pepper (I use them for flavors.  Skip if you are not into spicy food)
2 gloves of garlic
1 small piece of pickled ginger
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
salt to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions：

Finely chop the pickled string beans.  If you really want to try this recipe but don’t want to make any pickled vegetable at home, you can always buy the ready to eat version pickles from an Asian grocery store. 

Chop the pickled chili peppers too.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic and pickled ginger.  With a pair of scissors, finely cut the dried chili peppers.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil, garlic slices, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, dried chili peppers and pickled chili peppers.  Stir fry for a couple minutes.  Add ground pork. Stir fry over high heat until the ground pork turns slightly golden brown.  Add freshly ground black pepper and rice cooking wine.  Stir fry for another couple minutes.

Add chopped string beans, along with sugar, salt and soy sauce to taste.

Stir fry over high heat for another 2 to 3 minutes.

 Remove from heat and serve immediately.  

My husband is very excited and happy with this dish because I bring back the familiar taste of his hometown for him, which makes me happy too! O(∩_∩)O~

The dish goes well with cooked rice, porridge or rice wine!

STIR-FRIED SPICY PORK AND DAIKON

中文：五花肉炒萝卜干2

I posted this recipe before.  It is so good that I just keep cooking this dish.  I just bought a large box of daikon so that I don’t have to worry about running out daikon again.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 piece of pork belly (about 1 1/2pound)
1 1/2 cup dried daikon (also available in Asian grocery store)
2/3 cup dried red chili peppers
2 teaspoons Sichuan pepper corns
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 to 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
3 to 4 tablespoon chicken stock/ water
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
chopped onion
2 to 3 tablespoons oil for cooking
salt to taste

Directions：

Dried daikon is available in Asian grocery store.  You can also make it at home.  It is very easy.  All you need to do is to peel the daikon, cut it into string cheese size pieces and then air dry in a food dehydrator and under the sun.  I prefer to air dry daikon pieces under the hot summer sun.  It takes two to three days to get dried inside and out.

Keep any extra dried daikon in Ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator.  It should be able to last a really long time. 

Two hours before cooking, soak dried dakai in water.  After it is totally rehydrate, rinse a couple times under running water.

Thinly slice the pork belly.

Dried red chili peppers are sometimes covered in dust.  I like to rinse and drain them and then cut into pieces.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil, and then add sliced pork belly.  Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.  Stir fry over high heat until the pork turns slightly golden brown.  Add garlic, Sichuan peppercorns.  Stir fry until the spices are toasted with pork fat.  Add daikon; stir fry for another couple minutes; add chicken stock/ water, oyster sauce, rice cooking wine and salt.  Continue to stir fry until all the liquid is absorbed by pork and daikon.  Sprinkle with chopped green onion and transfer to a big bowl or plate.  Serve immediately. 

Diced spinach and dried smoked tofu salad

中文：香干拌菠菜

It is a very easy and simple Chinese side dish.  The most popular versions are made with wild vegetable found in the field in spring season.  I made simpler by using spinach because it is more accessible in America. 

Ingredients：

2 pieces dried smoked tofu (available in any Asian grocery store and some American grocery stores too)
1 bunch spinach
1/3  to 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2  to 1 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste
water for blanching spinach

Directions：

Dice the smoked tofu into small pea size pieces. 

Rinse the spinach under running water.  Blanch it in boiling water for 5 seconds and then shock it in icy or cold water.  The vibrant green color can be kept by doing so.

Add spinach, tofu, sugar, sesame oil and salt to a medium bowl.  Mix well with a fork or wooden spoon until everything is well combined together. 

It can be served immediately, but the longer it sits, the better it gets. 

Daikon Kimchi

 中文： 萝卜泡菜

It is some sort of tradition for most Chinese families in our town to stock up on napa cabbage and daikon before winter comes.  We get them from a nearby farm where a Korean/American family grows and harvests Asian napa cabbage and daikon ever year.  They are fresh and taste so much better than the ones you can get from regular grocery stores.   

There are so many ways to cook them.  They both have a mild nutty grassy flavor, so they go well pretty much any other ingredients. 

My top three favorite ways to Daikon is making soup with them, stir-frying with pork and of course kimchi!

Here is a stir-fried daikon with pork recipe I posted before. 

http://www.yankitchen.com/english-blog/stirfriedasianageporkbellydrieddaikon

And now let’s make some Daikon kimchi. 

Ingredients：

1 large Daikon (weighs between 3 to 4 pounds)
2 to 3 tablespoons salt
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 head garlic
1 large piece of ginger root
1 small bunch of green onions
2/3 to 1 cup Koeran chili powder
2 to 3 tablespoons crushed red peppers (optional)
2 tablespoon fish sauce
4 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions：

Peel the daikon and dice it into half inch cubes.  In a large bowl, add daikon cubes, salt and sugar.  Mix well and let it sit for 2 to 3 hours.  Drain the extra liquid.

Peel the garlic and ginger; chop them finely. 

Coursely chop green onions. 

Add ginger, garlic, green onion, chili powder, crushed red peppers, fish sauce and soy sauce to the daikon.  Mix with a wooden spoon until everything comes together. 

Store in clean glass jars.  Cover tightly and allow them to ferment for a couple weeks.