Mouthwatering Chicken

Mouthwatering Chicken

　　Mouthwatering Chicken is a hot dish loaded with rich seasonings, combining numbness, spiciness, umami, fragrance, tenderness, and crispness in one bite. It enjoys the reputation of “renowned across three thousand li in Bashu, surpassing the flavors of twelve states in the south.” Guo Moruo wrote in his work *Tian Bo Qu*: “The white-sliced chicken I ate as a boy back in my hometown of Sichuan, with its snowy-white meat slices and bright red oil infused with chili peppers—just thinking about it now makes my mouth water…” The term “mouthwatering” was playfully borrowed in its name, which eventually led to today’s famous “Mouthwatering Chicken.”

　　Features: This dish places great emphasis on ingredient selection, using only free-range local roosters. The focus lies in seasoning, with a rich blend of spices that combine numbness, spiciness, umami, fragrance, tenderness, and crispness. It enjoys the reputation of “renowned across three thousand li in Bashu, surpassing the flavors of twelve states in the south.”

　　Ingredients: 1000g black-skinned local rooster, 10g Sichuan peppercorn oil, 10g sugar, 10g sesame paste, 30g ginger-garlic juice, 30g sesame oil, 10g chopped scallions, 30g cooking wine, 20g roasted white sesame seeds, 50g cooked chili oil, 10g red soy sauce, 25g roasted peanut powder, 10g vinegar, 25g MSG.

　　Preparation Method:

　　1. Clean and slaughter a live chicken, remove the feet and wing tips, and blanch in boiling water to remove blood. Rinse thoroughly with clean water. Heat water in a pot to 70°C, add the chicken along with spring onion segments, ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, cooking wine, and salt. Cook until just done, then remove and soak in cold broth. Once cooled, take out, cut into strips, and arrange in a concave serving dish.

　　2. In a bowl, mix red soy sauce, ginger-garlic juice, sesame paste, cooked chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, sugar, vinegar, MSG, chili oil, and sesame oil to make a sauce. Pour over the chicken strips, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, peanut powder, and chopped scallions to finish.