Drool-worthy Sichuan Chicken in Chili Oil Sauce (Kou Shui Ji)
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
40 mins
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Total Time
50 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Calories
448 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Chinese
Drool-worthy Sichuan Chicken in Chili Oil Sauce (Kou Shui Ji)
Description
Drool-worthy Sichuan Chicken in Chili Oil Sauce begins by preparing a chili oil dressing where neutral cooking oil is infused over low heat with scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon stick, and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant and browned. This spiced oil is then poured over a bowl containing finely chopped roasted peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, red chili flakes, and salt to marry the flavors.
The chicken leg quarters are deboned but skin-on for texture and gently poached in boiling water scented with ginger and scallions. After covering the pot and turning off the heat, the chicken slowly cooks in residual heat to maintain moistness without overcooking. Once cooked, the chicken is cooled and sliced.
The final step combines sesame paste, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, chopped garlic, and chicken stock to form a flavorful sauce. The chicken slices are served coated with the chili oil mixture and sesame-based sauce, garnished with scallions. This dish balances spiciness, numbing Sichuan peppercorn aroma, nutty depth, and bright acidity for a classic Sichuan cold appetizer.
Ingredients
For Step 1:
- 3 tablespoon peanuts finely chopped, plain roasted
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- 1 tablespoon red chili flakes seeded and chopped, or dried red chilis
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/3-1/2 cup neutral cooking oil generic cooking oil
- 3 scallions (cut into large sections)
- 4 lices ginger
- 5 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick small
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorn
For Step 2:
- 2 chicken leg quarters (deboned with skin still on; try asking your butcher to do this for you)
- 2 scallions
- 2 lices ginger
For Step 3:
- 1 tablespoon sesame paste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce light
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons chicken stock
Instructions
Step 1:
- Put chopped peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and salt into a medium bowl and set it aside. Heat your oil in pan over low heat, and add the scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon stick, and Sichuan peppercorns. Allow these aromatics to slowly infuse into the oil, until everything is kind of browned and wrinkly and fragrant. Discard the spices and pour the hot infused oil into the peanut mixture. Give everything a stir and cover the bowl with a plate to seal everything inside. Walk away and don't come back until everything else is ready!
Step 2:
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil (there should be enough water to submerge the chicken) along with the ginger and scallion. Once it's boiling, add the chicken (once it's added the water will probably stop boiling because of the temperature change).
- Bring the water to a boil again, and after a minute, cover the pot and immediately turn off the heat. Let it sit on the stove for 20 minutes to slowly poach the chicken. In the meantime, prepare a small ice bath for chicken. After 20 minutes, take the chicken out of the pot and plunge it in the ice bath and let the chicken cool completely. Slice the chicken and place it on your serving plate.
Step 3:
- Mix all of the Step 3 ingredients in a bowl. Now combine the mixture you just made with the peanut mixture you made in Step 1. Pour as much as you want over the chicken. We put about 2/3 of the mixture over the chicken and used the rest for a cold noodle lunch the next day (a highly recommended action!).
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 448 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 448kcal | 22% |
| Carbohydrates | 13g | 4% |
| Protein | 17g | 34% |
| Fat | 38g | 58% |
| Saturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Cholesterol | 71mg | 24% |
| Sodium | 923mg | 38% |
| Potassium | 406mg | 9% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 820IU | 16% |
| Vitamin C | 4.7mg | 5% |
| Calcium | 92mg | 9% |
| Iron | 2.5mg | 14% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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