In 712, three
elderly women ran a restaurant in a small town in southern Hunan. One evening,
some merchants came by looking for dinner, but the restaurant was sold out. The
owners quickly bought two chickens and decided they’d try something new and
quick.
They briefly poached and boned the birds, and then tossed them in a spicy sauce made with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, ginger, vinegar, and rice wine.
Their customers loved it, and word of the chicken eventually reached the county chief. He came to the restaurant, ordered the dish, found it delicious, and ended up naming it after the county where they lived: Dongan.
They briefly poached and boned the birds, and then tossed them in a spicy sauce made with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, ginger, vinegar, and rice wine.
Their customers loved it, and word of the chicken eventually reached the county chief. He came to the restaurant, ordered the dish, found it delicious, and ended up naming it after the county where they lived: Dongan.
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Simply luscious |
This is one of those
carefree dishes you should learn by heart. Poach the chicken in a seasoned
broth like this, and then you have the makings for at least two dinners, since
the chicken soup is fabulous with fresh mushrooms, a bit of greens, and some
green bean noodles to round it out. And if you end up loving Dongan Chicken as
much as I do, consider it as a topping for noodle soups, a plate of rice, or
even a green salad. (Make extra sauce, too, while you’re at it, as it will take
your salad, noodles and rice to new and happy heights.)
A really wonderful
thing about this sort of preparation is that you can make this casually over a
couple of days. Poach the chicken one day and chill it. Bone it another day, if
you’d prefer. Then, whenever you’re up to it, mix together the sauce and toss
in the chicken.
Incredibly simple.
Incredibly good.
Dongan
chicken
Dōngān jī 東安雞
Hunan
Serves 6 to 8
Chicken and poaching liquid:
1 (3 pounds, or so)
small fryer
½ teaspoon ground toasted
Sichuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon dark
soy sauce
2 tablespoons
Shaoxing rice wine
1 tablespoon rock
sugar (a piece about half the size of a walnut)
Boiling water, as
needed
Everything else:
3 to 6 small dried
chilies, depending upon how hot they are and how hot you like your food
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Bone the bird |
¼ cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons
ginger, finely julienned
2 tablespoons black
vinegar
2 tablespoons
Shaoxing rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup poaching
liquid (from Step 2)
1 teaspoon sea salt,
or to taste
1 teaspoon
cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cool stock or water
3 green onions, trimmed
and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 teaspoons toasted
sesame oil
1. Start this recipe
a couple of hours — or even a day or two — before you plan to serve it. Rinse the
chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Put the ground Sichuan peppercorns, soy
sauce, rice wine, and sugar in a 2-quart stockpot, add about a cup of the boiling
water, and swish this around. Add the chicken, breast side up. Pour in more
enough boiling water to cover the chicken with about an inch or two of the
water, place it on the stove, and place the pot over high heat. As soon as it
boils, reduce the heat so that you have a lively simmer, and let the chicken
cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until a chopstick inserted into the
thickest part of the thigh goes in very easily. Let the chicken sit in the stock,
and when it has cooled down to lukewarm, carefully remove the chicken to a
rimmed platter and let it cool off until it is very easy to handle. Reserve the
poaching liquid in the stockpot.
2. Place another
large plate or platter next to the chicken. If the head, neck, and/or feet are
still attached, remove them and toss them into the poaching liquid. As you
proceed to break down the chicken, you can leave the skin attached to the meat
if you wish, or add it to the stockpot, too, along with all of the bones. Cut
off the wingtips and back, and put them in the stockpot. Remove the bones from
the wings, legs (pull out the tendons), and thighs — leave the meat in chunks as
large as possible and place them on the clean plate. Slice the meat crosswise
as needed into pieces about 1½ x ½-inch in size. Finally, remove the meat from
the rest of the carcass and cut it into the same size as the rest of the chicken.
Toss the rest of the bones into the stockpot, too. Bring the stock to a boil
and then simmer it uncovered for about an hour; strain and discard the solids. Reserve
about ¼ cup of the stock for this recipe, and use the rest of the stock for something
else. The recipe can be made ahead of time, in which case chill the chicken and
the reserved stock; they will not have to be reheated before proceeding.
3. Break the chilies
in half and discard the seeds and stem ends. Crumble or chop the chilies in to
smallish pieces. If you’re using whole Sichuan peppercorns, place them on the
cutting board and crush them with the side of a cleaver, pressing down on the
cleaver and rubbing it a bit into the peppercorns so that they break open.
4. Set a wok over
medium-high heat until it barely begins to smoke, add the oil and swirl it
around, and then add the ginger and chilies. Quickly stir-fry them for a few
seconds before adding the chicken meat to the wok. Gently toss the chicken over
the heat for a minute before adding the ground or crushed peppercorns, vinegar,
rice wine, and sugar. Continue to gently toss everything together over the heat
for about a minute before adding the poaching liquid and salt. Cover the wok
and let the flavors combine for about two minutes, by which time most of the
stock will have cooked off.
5. Uncover the wok
and pour off any excess oil. Taste and add more salt, vinegar, chilies, Sichuan
peppercorns, or sugar as needed. Return the wok to medium-high heat. Sprinkle
in the cornstarch mixture and toss the chicken again until the cornstarch has
evenly coated the chicken and is cooked through. Toss in the green onions and
sprinkle everything with the sesame oil. Serve immediately.
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