Name: Chao Lajiao (Stir-Fried Whole Mild Chillies)
Yield: Serves 4 as Part of a Chinese Meal, or 2 as a Single Dish.
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons sugar; 125 ml/4 fl oz chicken stock; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons peanut oil; 1 tablespoon light soy sauce; 2 tablespoons Chopped garlic; 350 g/12 oz fresh whole mild chillies, preferably of different colours

Preparation info

Serves
4
as Part of a Chinese Meal, or 2 as a Single Dish.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Taste of China

By Ken Hom

Published 1990

About

I enjoyed this wonderful dish on a train trip from Hangzhou to Suzhou, known as the Venice of China because of its canals. It was the first and only time I have ever eaten a dish composed entirely of whole cooked chillies. It worked well because the chillies were mild, fresh and in season, therefore cheap and delicious, especially accompanied by rice. Variously coloured, the chillies — from green to yellow, orange, and bright red — were a delight to the eye.

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