Fried Chicken Chunks

Fried Chicken Chunks

　　Fried Chicken Chunks

　　 〔Ingredients〕: 1 whole spring chicken (about 750g), 10g Sichuan peppercorn salt, 20g Worcestershire sauce, 10g Shaoxing wine, 10g ginger juice, 20g salt, 1000g peanut oil, 15g light soy sauce (approximately 100g oil used)

　　 〔Cooking Method〕: 1. Clean the chicken after initial preparation, remove the head, neck, and internal organs. Split the chicken in half lengthwise. Hold the chicken leg bones with your left hand, skin side down. With the tip of a knife in your right hand, make a cut under the thigh bone and slice along the leg bone. Then sever the bone just below the second joint and lift it up (to separate bone from meat but not remove it). Chop the meat, then sever the bone just under the middle joint. For the front drumstick, first cut through the shoulder tendon, then slice the meat along the drumstick bone. Sever the upper joint bone and lift it to connect with the breast meat, then lift both bones to wrap the drumstick meat over the shoulders. Use this method to process both chicken legs and drumsticks (with breast meat) into eight pieces and place them in a bowl.

　　 2. Mix the Shaoxing wine, salt, light soy sauce, and ginger juice together into a marinade, pour evenly over the chicken pieces, and mix well to season.

　　 3. Place the wok on high heat, add peanut oil, and when it reaches 60% heat, add the chicken pieces. Fry until they turn persimmon yellow. Remove from heat, let the residual heat cook the chicken further until the meat is tender enough to separate from the bone, then take them out. Return the wok to high heat, bring the oil to 70–80% heat, and refry the chicken until it turns a bright red color. Place onto a plate and serve with Sichuan peppercorn salt and Worcestershire sauce on the side.

　　 〔Cooking Key Point〕: “Letting it sit off the heat” is also known as “fully simmered.” To prevent the exterior from burning or the inside remaining raw or tough during frying, or to avoid the ingredients becoming tough due to excessive heat, the wok is taken off the flame once the ingredients reach a certain temperature. Let it cool slightly before returning it to the heat. Repeating this process allows the ingredients to cook through without becoming tough, achieving the desired texture of crispy outside and tender inside.

　　 〔Story〕: “Fried Chicken Chunks,” also known as “Eight-Piece Chicken,” is a traditional famous dish from the Central Plains. The charming phrase used by local restaurants, “Dry-floor soybean paste no starch, one chicken chopped into eight,” refers to this dish in the latter part. Legend has it that Emperor Qianlong, while inspecting riverworks and staying in Kaifeng, once tasted its flavor, which led to its fame. It has a history of over 200 years and has been refined by generations of chefs, improving its taste. This dish balances crispness and tenderness, with a bright red color, crispy outside and tender inside, and perfect moisture level, making it highly popular with diners. It tastes even better when served with Sichuan peppercorn salt and Worcestershire sauce.