Tangerine Peel Chicken (Szechuan)
This really is one of the most amazing things I’ve eaten–and the most uniquely flavored. Purists will object to my use of fresh tangerine peel, but dried tangerine peel is often not available at the Chinese grocery (I dry my own because tangerines are not usually available year round), and orange peel is an entirely different thing, “sweeter” in flavor while tangerine peel is almost bitter, maybe grapefruit-y, and orange peel produces a very different, inferior dish. I also double the chilis when I make it, but I love painfully hot food–but before you do the same, note that because of the way this dish is prepared, four chilis will give what most consider to be a spicy dish. Of all my recipes, this is easily one of the five or six most valuable.
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, in small cubes
2 T. each: oil and sesame oil
1 t. salt
Dry seasonings
1/2 tangerine peel, shredded (or a 2-inch piece of dried tangerine peel, soaked until soft then shredded)
4 dried chilis (the small red ones–chiles de arbol are available everywhere, and work perfectly for Asian, since they’re primarily hot and don’t have a distinctive flavor of their own)
3 green onions, diced
4 quarter-sized pieces ginger, minced
1 t. szechuan peppercorns, toasted and ground
Liquid seasonings
3 T. each: dry sherry, dark soy sauce, wine rice
1 T. sugar
First, put a large piece of cheesecloth folded double in a strainer over a small container, and measure into the cheesecloth the wine rice (like I said, it’s fermented rice–you don’t eat the rice, you extract the sticky liquid and use that). Bunch up the top of the cheesecloth and squeeze out the liquid, then discard the rice and the cheesecloth. Add to it the rest of the liquid seasonings, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Combine the dry seasonings on a saucer.
Heat a wok until smoking hot over a high flame, then add the oils and swirl the wok to get the oil up the sides. Add the chicken and the salt, and flip it around in the hot oil for about a minute, until all the pink is gone. Add the dry seasonings, mix well, then add the liquid seasonings. Cover the wok, reduce the heat to very low, and cook for fifteen minutes. Remove the cover, turn the heat up on high, and flip until the liquid is evaporated. I always drizzle a little bit of sesame oil on right before serving it.
