Hot and Sour Three Pepper Chicken (酸辣三椒鸡, Syun1 Laat6 Saam1 Ziu1 Gai1)

 

This recipe was updated on 12 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

The sour part of this dish comes from using Chinkiang or black (rice) vinegar, which is black in color and made from rice. These vinegars are available at your local Asian supermarket, but regular cider vinegar can be substituted.

The hot part of this dish comes from the use of Serrano or Jalapeño pepper and constitutes one of the three colorful peppers used in the dish; the others being the (sweet) red and orange bell peppers. The vinegar actually moderates the heat from the Serrano or Jalapeño peppers.

This is not a sweet and sour dish, since the sauce is just slightly sweet, but sourer in taste. If you want a sweet and sour dish, see the recipe for Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs (甜酸排骨, Tim⁴ Syun¹ Paai⁴ Gwat¹).

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh (鷄髀, gai1 bei2) or breast meat (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1	1	Red bell pepper (紅椒, hung4 ziu1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1	1	Orange bell pepper (橙椒, caang4 ziu1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1-2	1-2	Large serrano or Jalapeño chili, cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Chinkiang vinegar (镇江香醋, zan3 gong1 hoeng1 cou3) or black vinegar (黑米醋, hak1 mai5 cou3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Chinkiang Vinegar
(镇江香醋, zan3 gong1 hoeng1 cou3)

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any skin or bones, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
4. Wash and cut the red and orange bell peppers into 1- (2.5 cm.) x 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. First cut off the ends of the bell pepper, leaving an open cylinder. Remove the seeds and central core of the bell pepper and make one cut lengthwise to open the cylinder. Flatten the open bell pepper cylinder and cut 1-inch (2.5 cm.) wide by 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash and cut the Serrano or Jalapeño peppers into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces and place into a small bowl. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into the bowl with the Serrano or Jalapeño peppers.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Chinkiang or black vinegar, Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the chicken pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the chicken in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the chicken aside in a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the serrano or Jalapeño peppers. Stir fry the peppers to brown them before adding the red and orange bell peppers to the wok. Stir fry the bell peppers to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic mixture becomes fragrant. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.