Bang Bang Chicken - Cold poached chicken with ‘strange flavour’ sauce

We had a relaxed Christmas last year where we each brought something along to share - our contribution was this beautiful chicken dish inspired by the Sichuan classic. I was concerned cold poached chicken would not be sufficiently indulgent and celebratory, but my consternation was foolish - it was delightful and will be a staple of the summer in our house.

As usual when cooking Sichuanese dishes we used Fuchsia Dunlop’s recipe from The Food of Sichuan as the jumping off point and made our own adaptations from there. One that I have been particularly enjoying, is subbing out the sesame paste commonly used in ‘strange flavour’ Sichuan dishes for the lovely Australian macadamia butter that my Mum sends down to me from Queensland - a little local twist that stays true to the heart of the dish. I made two sauces this time to accommodate those who do not tolerate spice - if this is you, sub the chilli oil for 14 Spice oil.

This dish is of a genre in Chinese cooking for cold poached chicken dishes dressed in different ways, once you have the fundamentals down you can branch out and go in different directions - say a hot honey and black vinegar dressed chicken, black bean and garlic, or a ginger and scallion sauce.

For the weeknight chef with no time on their hands, A huge shortcut to something similar, inferior sure, but still nice - buy a high quality pre-roasted chook, break it down and just do the dressing and garnish - midweek summer dinner done.

Ingredients:

For the poached chicken

• 1 Medium Chicken (Buy it from Lowan Park if you can, or the best that you can afford)

• 1 knob of Ginger

• The trimming from a bunch of spring onions

• A big splash of Shaoxing wine

• 2 Black Cardamom pods

• 2 Star Anise pods

• 1 stick of cassia

• (next time I intend to add a little turmeric too for a lovely yellow colour)

For the Sauce

• 2 tbsp Macadamia butter

• 2 tbsp of Secret Weapon Soy Sauce

• 1 tbsp Hot Fermented Honey

• 1 1/2 tbsp Chinkiang Vinegar

• 4 tbsp Sichuan Chilli Oil

• 2 tbsp water

• (optional but highly recommended_ a big pinch of Ajinomoto MSG

Garnish

• 75g Fried peanuts with Sichuan Mala Salt

  • peanuts with skin

  • Sichuan Mala Salt

  • Oil to fry them

• A bunch of spring onion slivered finely

Method:

Poaching the Chicken - this can be done ahead of time, as can frying the peanuts.

1. Fill a tall stockpot with enough water to cover the chicken, and place it over high heat

2. When it reaches a boil, lower the chicken in thighs down, add the spring onion, ginger and spices and return to the boil and skim if there is foam to be skimmed

3. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and leave for around 45 minutes or until your thermometer reads 74 degrees at the thigh

4. Fill another pot, or bucket, with cold water and ice and remove the chicken to it to arrest cooking. reserve your cooking water to make stock with the bones later. Allow to cool

5. Carefully break down the chicken, traditionally it is torn, into small mouth sized strips and pieces. I like to keep each cut separate so their textures may be appreciated individually

Frying the peanuts - you can do a large or small batch, they keep well in an airtight container and make a great snack or garnish

1. Smack your peanuts to loosen them

2. Put them in a small saucepan and cover with oil until just submerged

3. Place it over a medium heat and bring to 120 degrees

4. Fry them at this temperature for 20-25 minutes

5. Remove to paper towel and season with a liberal sprinkle of Sichuan Mala Salt

Making the Sauce

1. Grab a jar, an empty Salt Gang jar is the perfect size

2. Put all the ingredients in, put the lid on, & shake

3. Taste and adjust to your taste

To serve

1. Pour the sauce all over the chicken

2. Garnish with peanuts and slivers of spring onion

3. Eat