Ma-La Cold Chicken

Name: Ma-La Cold Chicken (麻辣雞絲)
Yield: Serves 2–3 as a main course, 4–6 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1½ pounds fresh whole chicken breasts, with skin on and bone in; 1 thin whole scallion, cut into 3-inch lengths; 1 quarter-size slice fresh ginger; 1 pound pencil-thin asparagus, woody ends snapped off, or ¾ pound Chinese longbeans, trimmed and cut into 3-inch lengths; ⅛ teaspoon Szechwan brown peppercorns; scant ½ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; ⅓–½ cup Dijon Mustard Sauce; ⅓–½ cup Chinese sesame sauce of your choice; 2½ tablespoons Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; ¼ teaspoon Szechwan brown peppercorns, twigs removed; 2½ tablespoons fresh corn or peanut oil; 1 rounded tablespoon thin-cut green and white scallion rings; 2 nickel-size slices fresh ginger, lightly smashed; ⅛–¼ teaspoon dried red chili flakes; ¾ teaspoon thin (regular) soy sauce

麻辣雞絲

Preparation info

Serves
2–3
as a main course .

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

I discovered this jewel in a tiny, unpretentious restaurant on one of my interminable food treasure hunts through San Francisco’s Chinatown. It is a playful variation on a classic Szechwanese cold dish, a lovely example of the art of yin and yang. Striking and light enough for a nouvelle cuisine dinner, it also makes a satisfying lunch.

Ma-La means “numbing and spicy,” the qualities of the Szechwan peppercorns and red chili infused in the oil. The

Ingredients

Asia
China
Taipei
Dinner
Main course
Lunch
Spicy

Ingredients

Method