Jacky Yu's Mouth-watering Sichuan Spicy Chicken 金牌口水雞

I got two copies of Jacky Yu's cookbook in my recent trip to Hong Kong. After I tried one his restaurants in HK ( read entry here ), I was really inspired by his cooking. There are many dishes that I would like to try making from his two cookbooks. However, the one on top of my list is his signature dish : mouth-watering Sichuan spicy chicken. Just like what chef Yu mentioned in his book: “…Just by listening to or looking at all the ingredients used for this Sichuan’s dish being mixed together will make your mouth water…”
His mouth-watering Sichuan Spicy Chicken dish was featured as a master chef signature dish at Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, France.

Recipe slightly modified from “Jacky Yu Xi Yan cuisine highlights”

Recipe Type: Main Course

Author: Jacky Yu

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Modern rendition of Sichuan Spicy Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 chicken
• 3 century eggs ( preserved duck’s eggs )
• 1 pack mung bean sheets
• roasted sesame seeds
• roasted peanuts
• diced Chinese celery
• few slices of ginger [ optional ]
• 3-4 stalks of green onion ( cut in half ) [ optional ]

Hot and Spicy Sauce

• 8 Tbsps ( 120 ml ) soy sauce
• 2 1/2 Tbsps ( 37.5 ml ) Zhenjiang Vinegar
• 4 Tbsps ( 60 ml ) cold boiled water
• 2 Tbsps ( 30 gr ) sugar
• 1 tsp ( 5 gr ) ground Sichuan peppercorn
• 1 Tbsp ( 15 gr ) finely chopped ginger
• 1 Tbsp ( 15 gr ) finely chopped garlic
• 1 Tbsp ( 15 gr ) finely chopped Chinese parsley ( cilantro )
• chili oil to taste
• 4 Tbsps ( 60 ml ) sesame oil

Instructions

1. Wash the chicken and blanch it in boiling water for 30 seconds. Removed immediately and soak in ice water for 1 minute. Return to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off at once, keep the lid on and leave the chicken to poach for another 45 minutes. Remove and leave to cool. ( Note: you can also throw in some slices of ginger and cut green onion in the boiling water to give extra flavor to the chicken ) Note : Do not overcook the chicken to keep the meat tender. The heat of the stove at each household is different so please regulate the boiling time
2. Dice century eggs. Cut mungbean sheets into strips and soak them in boiling water until transparent. Soak in iced water and drain.
3. Once the chicken is cooled, remove and shred the chicken meat and transfer to a deep dish.
4. Add the century eggs and the mungbean sheets into the dish.
5. Mix the hot and spicy sauce well and pour it into the deep dish along the rim. Add 4 tbsps of seasame oil and chili oil ( the amount of chili oil depends on personal preference )
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds, peanuts, and diced cilantro on top and serve.

Notes

If you want a stronger flavor, use more ground Sichuan peppercorn