宮保雞丁 1.1 (Kung Pao Chicken 1.1)

You can have fun going crazy figuring out what's different- I've probably made this dish with another 30 pounds of chicken and am putting some fine adjustments on it now.  I've tried using peanut butter, whole chilis, crushed chilis, toasted and non-toasted spices, etc.

I think this is as good as its going to get without a revolution in my approach.

The stuff

• 1-1.5 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed to L = 15mm, brined.  If you're not sure what 15mm looks like, get a ruler.  This dish works with pieces up to 1" cube in size.
• 1/3c coarse crushed peanuts, roasted (see below)

 Sauce stuff

• 2 green onions, whites thinly sliced oblique and greens reserved for garnish
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• .5" ginger, grated
• 2 TB soy
• 2 TB 紹興酒 Shao xing rice wine
• 2 TB dark brown sugar, packed
• 1+1 TB lemon juice, divided (Using a sour grapefruit also works)
• 2 TB crushed red chilis
• 1 TB 花椒 (Sichuan peppercorns)
• OPTIONAL: zest of a half a lemon (or grapefruit zest if using for the acid)

-To get peanuts roasted, dry toast in a wok or skillet on medium heat until fragrant.  Or, put in a 350F oven, stirring every 5 minutes, for a total of 15 minutes, or until fragrant.

-Dry toast the peppercorns until fragrant, then remove.  Do the same to the crushed chilis.  Take both and grind in a spice grinder until very fine.  Warning: this step may make you want to die from the volatile fumes.

-Once chicken is brined, thoroughly wash chicken and drain.  Mix with just enough cornstarch that the chicken starts sticking to itself, probably 2 to 3 tablespoons.  You should err on the side of too much starch- during this step, you really need a "batter" as opposed to a coating so that the pancake maintains its integrity for flipping.  This allows an otherwise impossible thing to do without sauteing the breast whole- establishing a flavorful crust.

-Heat a well seasoned wok with about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil until shimmering.  Add the garlic and green onion whites and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the chicken and spread out into a single layered "pancake" (if your wok is small, divide the chicken into appropriate sized batches).  Cook for about 2 minutes or until you can see the chicken start turning white from cooking up to about a third of the thickness.  Shake the wok to make sure the pancake is loose- if it isn't, gently use the spatula to loosen trouble spots until the whole thing is sliding around your wok like a giant puck. Flip the pancake (or slide the chicken out onto a plate and flip the whole assembly back into the wok uncooked side down).  Cook another 2 minutes or until this side starts showing white coming up the sides of the chicken as well.  Break the pancake with the spatula and then wait for another 30 seconds for the freshly exposed starch to set.  Toss in the wok until the chicken is just tinged pink in most areas, about another minute or two.  Reserve chicken.  You want it slightly undercooked (90% ish) so that rolling it around in the extremely hot kung pao caramel will bring it to perfectly cooked.

-Heat the sauce ingredients excluding the 1 reserved tablespoon of lemon juice on high until it turns into a very thick, dark caramel with lots of small bubbles forming.  Add the ground chilis/peppercorns.  You want this to be REALLY thick because the juices and oil on the exterior of the chicken will dilute the sauce when you mix it.  Add the chicken, half of the peanuts, and remaining lemon juice and coat the chicken and finish cooking it, about another 30 seconds to a minute.  Plate the chicken, sprinkle with remaining roasted peanuts and green onion greens and serve immediately.