Photograph of the finished Mala chicken

China · Gà chiên ớt cay tê Mala

Mala chicken

45 min Hands-on time + 30 min waiting
MediumDifficulty
5 stepsSteps
Serves 4 Amounts follow along 4

What to get ready

  • Photograph of Chicken thighs Chicken thighs 1.6 lb
  • Photograph of Sichuan dried chili peppers Sichuan dried chili peppers 32
  • Photograph of Sichuan peppercorns Sichuan peppercorns 0.8 oz
  • Photograph of Garlic Garlic 16 cloves
  • Photograph of Ginger Ginger 1.1 oz
  • Photograph of Soy sauce Soy sauce ⅓ cup
  • Photograph of Cornstarch Cornstarch 2.8 oz
  • Photograph of Oil Oil 1 ½ cups
  • Photograph of Sugar Sugar 0.7 oz
  • Photograph of Roasted sesame seeds Roasted sesame seeds 1.1 oz
  • Photograph of Steamed rice Steamed rice 1.8 lb

Method

  1. 1 Cut the chicken into 2 cm pieces and marinate with soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch for 30 minutes.
  2. 2 Fry the chicken in oil at 175 degrees for 4 minutes, then remove, raise the oil to 195 degrees and fry again for 45 seconds until the crust is crispy.
  3. 3 Drain off excess oil, then roast the dried chilies with Sichuan peppercorns over low heat for 2 minutes, until the chilies darken but are not burnt.
  4. 4 Add minced garlic and chicken to a pan and stir-fry over high heat for 90 seconds with sugar and soy sauce.
  5. 5 Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds; the ratio of chili peppers to meat is true Sichuan style because chili peppers here are for flavor, not for eating.

With an appliance

  • Air fryer 43 min

    Replace step 2: thoroughly spray oil onto the chicken pieces, air fry at 190 degrees for 10 minutes, flip at the 6th minute, then increase the temperature to 205 degrees for another 2 minutes; steps 3 to 5 continue to tossing the chili peppers and stirring the chicken in the pan.

Start cooking