PT15M
Serves 6
asian chicken basil

Asian Chicken Basil

Asian chicken basil

Do you like a bit of hot spice? I do with tasty Sichuan peppercorns. The dish is traditionally made with jun jiu choi, which is a wild green leaf that is shaped like tiny maple leaves. However it is not readily available in most areas of the U.S., so we are substituting it with large leaf basil. The recipe comes from Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, she sure knows the art of Chinese cooking. See more Asian recipes here.


asian chicken basil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

Marinade

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine

1½ teaspoons fish stock

1½teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon double dark soy sauce

½ teaspoon ginger juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoons cornstarch

Sauce

3 tablespoons Stock

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1¼ teaspoons cornstarch

½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns

3 cups peanut oil

1 cup large basil leaves, washed and well dried

3 scallions, finely sliced

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

  1. Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes and reserve.
  2. To make the marinade: In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Add the chicken and turn to coat evenly. Let rest for 30 minutes.
  3. To make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and reserve.
  4. To dry roast the peppercorns, heat a wok over high heat for 30 seconds, Add the peppercorns and stir for 20 seconds. Lower the heat to medium and stir for 1½ minutes, or until the peppercorns release their fragrance. Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl. Let the peppercorns cool completely, then crush or grind them coarsely with the handle of a cleaver. Or , use a mortar and pestle. Reserve.
  5. To deep fry the basil leaves, heat the wok over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the peanut oil and heat to 300° F on a deep frying thermometer.  Add half of the basil leaves to the hot oil and deep fry turning them once for 1½ minutes, or until they are crisp and bright green. Using a Chinese strainer, remove them to a plate lined with paper towels and let them drain Repeat with the remaining leaves. Reserve.
  6. Heat the oil in the wok again until smoking. Add the chicken and marinade, spreading the cubes to prevent them from sticking together. Stir-fry the cubes, turning them constantly, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Lift out the chicken to a platter, and reserve.
  7. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok. Place the wok over high heat for 20 second. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add two-thirds of the scallions and all of the reserved peppercorns and cook, stirring for 45 seconds. Add the reserved chicken and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the wine and stir to mix, turning the chicken to coat it evenly. Make a well in the center of the mixture, stir the sauce, and pour it into the well. Stir fry for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce is absorbed and the chicken is well coated.
  8. Turn off the heat and transfer the chicken to a platter. Arrange the fried basil leaves around the chicken, sprinkle with the remaining scallions, and serve.

Recipe taken from Mastering the art of Chinese cooking, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

One thought on "Asian Chicken Basil"

  1. Patricia says:

    5 stars
    Very nice article. I definitely love this website. Continue the
    good work!

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