Fish-Fragrance Sauced Chicken

Name: Fish-Fragrance Sauced Chicken (魚香鷄絲)
Yield: Preceded by appetizers and accompanied by vegetables, perhaps one hot and one cold, this dish will serve 3 to 4 with rice or hot bread on the side.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon chili oil; 2 teaspoons Chenkong or red-wine vinegar; 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water; 1 pound shredded chicken breast, velveted; 2 small whole scallions, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons oil; 2 quarter -sized slices peeled ginger, minced; 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and well mashed with a garlic press or cleaver; ¼ teaspoon roasted and crushed Szechuan peppercorns; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce; Sprinkling black pepper

魚香鷄絲

Preparation info

Preceded by appetizers and accompanied by vegetables, perhaps one hot and one cold, this dish will serve
3 to 4
with rice or hot bread on the side.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Key to Chinese Cooking

By Irene Kuo

Published 1977

About

The delicious sauce that coats this chicken is not actually flavored with fish; it was originally created to go with fish—hence its name. It has become a famous sauce of Szechuan cooking.

This recipe produces light-brown shredded chicken, the mildly hot, faintly sweet and sour sauce just glazing the shreds.

Ingredients

1 pound shredded chicken breast, velveted
2 tablespoons oil

Asia
China
Starter
Spicy

Method

Preparations

Velvet the chicken. It may be done up to an hour beforehand; cover but do not refrigerate.

Place the ginger, scallions, and garlic on a small plate. Combine the seasonings in a bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Stir-Frying

Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until hot; a