Szechuan Chicken Dinner Recipe

Spices for Sichuan chicken photo by bonnie zion

Ingredients:
For the Vegetables
-leeks
-squash
-parsnip
-Sugar Loaf Chicory (found at Calliope farm stand) or another biter-sweet salad green
-fermented chile paste (can be home made by mixing ground hot peppers with lots of salt like sauerkraut -or you can buy something like it at Asian grocery stores)
-shallot vinaigrette (minced shallots mixed with 2 Tbs sherry vinegar and 5 Tbs good olive oil or neutral oil like canola)
-salt
-pepper
-oil (we used Canola)

For the Chicken
-Alex’s chicken
-Draper Ranger chicken purchased at the east side Olympia co-op
-Chehalis Pastured Chicken purchased at the east side Olympia co-op
-1/2c sugar and 1/2c salt mixed with 2 quarts of water to make a brine

Spice Mix:
-a couple cardamom pods
-1 star anise
-2 tbsp szechuan pepper corns
-2 tbsp red pepper flake
-2 tbsp cayenne pepper
-2 tbsp black pepper corns

Batter:
-1c buttermilk
-1 egg
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 1/2c flour
-1/2c cornstarch
-salt

For the Caramel Potatoes
-Ozette fingerling potatoes (co-op)
-sugar
-tiny bit of water
-oil for frying

For the Evergreen Horchata
-rice
-cinammon
-nutmeg
-water
-sweet and condensed milk
-raw milk
-douglass fir needles
– Bombay dry gin

Preperation:
Vegetables- Slice the leeks lengthwise and rinse. Quarter the parsnips lengthwise and slice the de-pulped squash into thin crescents. Coat all with oil, salt and pepper and then place on a medium hot grill in a single layer. Grill, turning a couple times until tender and a little charred. Mix the chicory leaves into the still warm grilled vegetables and allow it to wilt. Serve out a portion and then drizzle with fermented chile paste and the shallot vinaigrette.

Chicken– Cut the chicken into 8 pieces (2 breasts, 2 legs, 2 wings, 2 thighs). Save bones for stock! Soak the meat in the simple brine for 4 hours.

1. Combine the cardamom, black pepper corns, star anise, szechuan pepper corns, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper and toast until fragrant on a low heat in a small skillet. Grind all together with a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder until it is a powder. Your roomates may ask what made their coffee spicy the next day!
2. Whisk the buttermilk, egg, 1 tablespoon kosher salt (1.5 tsp table salt), and 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the water brine and add them to this buttermilk milk bowl. Transfer the contents of the bowl to a gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to overnight, flipping the bag occasionally to redistribute the contents and coat the chicken evenly.
3. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and the half of the remaining spice mixture in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the marinade from the zipper-lock bag and work it into the flour with your fingertips. Remove one piece of chicken from the bag, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off, drop the chicken into the flour mixture, and toss to coat. Continue adding chicken pieces to the flour mixture one at a time until they are all in the bowl. Toss the chicken until every piece is thoroughly coated, pressing with your hands to get the flour to adhere in a thick layer.
4. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the oil to 425°F in a 12-inch straight-sided cast-iron chicken fryer or a large wok over medium-high heat. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain the temperature, being careful not to let the fat get any hotter.
5. One piece at a time, transfer the coated chicken to a fine-mesh strainer and shake to remove excess flour. Transfer to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Once all the chicken pieces are coated, place skin side down in the pan. The temperature should drop to 300°F; adjust the heat to maintain the temperature at 300°F for the duration of the cooking. Fry the chicken until it’s a deep golden brown on the first side, about 6 minutes; do not move the chicken or start checking for doneness until it has fried for at least 3 minutes, or you may knock off the coating. Carefully flip the chicken pieces with tongs and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 4 minutes longer.
6. Transfer the chicken to a clean wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 150°F and the legs register 165°F, 5 to 10 minutes; remove the chicken pieces to paper-towel-lined plate briefly before moving them to a wire rack as they reach their final temperature. Season with salt and remaining spice mixture and serve.

   recipe adapted from southern fried chicken recipe in The Food Lab 

Potatoes– rinse potatoes and cut them into bite sized pieces. Begin the caramel by caramelizing the sugar in a pan at medium heat. Add the small amount of water to help the sugars dissolve fully. Once it’s thickened and caramel in color remove it from the heat. In a separate pot heat the oil so you can begin frying the potatoes. After the oil is hot fry them in batches until crispy and golden and then allow them to dry on paper towels or a wire rack. Gently fold the caramel into the potatoes until evenly coated and serve.

Horchata– Grind up the rice in a blender very briefly just to break up the grains a bit. Then toast pine needles briefly on low-medium heat in a pan until they become aromatic. Add the needles, rice and water to a large pitcher and stir. Allow the mixture to sit over night until milky in appearance. Strain the pine needles/rice and place the strained liquid in a blender. Add the cinnamon, milk, sweet and condensed milk, gin, and nutmeg to the blender and mix until everything is incorporated. Now it’s ready to serve. You could garnish the beverage with a sprig of Douglas fir if you choose.