Chinese salt and pepper chicken recipe

[kingchristo]

Hi just wanted to share my chinese salt and pepper recipe i have done a video for it can be accessed by

hope people like this

Chris

[liuzhou]

I have a few suggestions. Please take them in the spirit intended.

 

First clean your wok before you use it. I can see bits of old food moving around when you add the oil.

Heat the clean, empty wok then add the oil. In Chinese wok cooking, we never add cold oil to a cold wok.

Stabilise your wok. It is wobbling about really dangerously.

 

Remove that cable running across the gas rings. Again really dangerous.

 

If you coat all the chicken pieces then put them in the oil more or less together, they will cook more evenly. Chinese cooks would never use a deep fat fryer. They would use the wok.

 

A tablespoon of MSG is a huge amount to add to such a small dish. A teaspoon or two would be a lot more sensible. And contrary to popular opinion we do not add five-spice powder to everything. It is rarely used in China outside of Hong Kong/Guangdong.

 

I don't know what this dish is, but I'm 200% sure it isn't "realchineserecipes". I've never come across anything close to it in China or anywhere else. Must be realmanchesterrecipes".

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[kingchristo]

thanks for your comments i like to live on the edge. they are ment to be a replica of what is cooked in the chinese takeaways around where i live not of recipes that are done in china

[liuzhou]

they are ment to be a replica of what is cooked in the chinese takeaways around where i live not of recipes that are done in china

Well, perhaps you shouldn't title them as "Real Chinese", then.

Edited October 12, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[Keith_W]

I know that many of us Chinese are really conservative when it comes to traditional food, but I can imagine Italians and French recoiling in horror at some of my creations. If he likes takeaway style Chinese food, then more power to him.

[Ader1]

they are ment to be a replica of what is cooked in the chinese takeaways around where i live not of recipes that are done in china

Well, perhaps you shouldn't title them as "Real Chinese", then.

I'm not quite sure where you are coming from insisting that Kinsgchristo stick to some Chinese culinary rules which you find acceptable according to what you've experienced in China. In answer to me on another thread when I asked about what some dish was which I had eaten in China you said:

"I guess he was just throwing together what he had - a fine tradition. "

Who is to say that some Chinese restaurant in Manchester or anywhere else for that matter did exactly the same ie "throw together what he could find" and found that it worked? According to you it would be "a fine tradition". This is what kingchristo is trying to recreate.

[liuzhou]

Wow!

I am not complaining about people recreating dishes or mixing traditions or inventing new dishes or throwing things together.

At no time did I insist that anyone stick to anything. He can cook what he likes. He likes it. That is his choice. I won't eat it . That's my choice.

What I complained about was his describing it as Real Chinese Food. It isn't.

Politeness renders me silent on other problems.

Edited October 14, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[Dejah]

Strange...what we grow up eating and exposed to is what we call "real Chinese". I wouldn't have thought kingchristo's dish was real if I hadn't had a salt and pepper chicken dish similar to his at an "authentic" Chinese restaurant here. At least, my students from mainland China all love this place and says it's "real Chinese food"...

As for deep frying in a wok, it WOULD be hazardous with the set up kingchristo uses. But, you were sure adapt at "wokking" with the tossing! I've been cooking for longer than any of you, I think, and I still can't "toss" like that! I blame it on my short stature.

BTW: Thanks for sharing your video, Chris, and welcome to the China forum!

Edited October 15, 2012 by Dejah (log)

[Ader1]

I noticed that as well. He was quite adept at the tossing. However, may I just add this one thing? I did spend some time working in a restaurant in China and I was learning how to 'toss'. The wok I was using was I would say larger than the one in the above video. Anyway, I was stir frying away as best I could and lifting the wok off of it's 'nest' (if that's a correct enough term?). And the guy who run the restaurant told me not to lift it up but more slide it towards you and back to it's housing/nest. The wok 'spatchula' was also used to kind of push the contents away from yourself to the other end of the wok and then tossed back as one moved the wok towards oneself. Of course, Kingkristo's set up wouldn't be suitable for this as are most western gas cookers. The guy showing me how to do it pointed out that in Chinese restaurants many of the woks are so big you'd never lift it up and 'toss'. I'm just saying what he told me but maybe in home cooking situations they do lift the woks up of the 'nest'?

[Keith_W]

Do not lift your wok off the "nest" (I don't know the correct term for it either). To toss food in a wok, push it away from you then jerk it back suddenly. The food will hit the side of the pan and fly into the air. Just as you jerk it back, push it forward again to catch the food.

[Dejah]

Good descriptions, Keith and Ader, on how "NOT" to toss. That's exactly what I do at home, with my rounded-bottom wok and electric range, without a wok-ring. Can't stand them, and I think keeping the wok ON maintains the heat.

I need to check out the other videos in the series Chris posted, especially the salt and pepper squid...

[Ader1]

Do not lift your wok off the "nest" (I don't know the correct term for it either). To toss food in a wok, push it away from you then jerk it back suddenly. The food will hit the side of the pan and fly into the air. Just as you jerk it back, push it forward again to catch the food.

The guy gave me a wok to take home with me and a 'spatula/ladle' and I bought a packet of salt to practice 'tossing' it. When I went back to the restaurant I just couldn't do it with out lifting off the 'nest' because I had been practicing walking around my apartment with the wok in the air. They then made be do it on the wok cooker with chopped cabbage. It was difficult. The kitchen was spartan and the weather was hot. But I soon managed to get into the required rhythm. Because that's what it is.....developing muscle memory to remember this rhythm. Shame is that now I am home I don't have cooking equipment to do this. I'm planning on rectifying this though.

[Keith_W]

Practise tossing food in your wok with a plate of peanut shells outside, or similar. That way you won't risk wasting food if you happen to toss it all over your hob.

[patrickamory]

Chris, I think that looks delicious, thanks. I understand where liuzhou is coming from on the authenticity tip, but I have no doubt that I'd be able to eat two helpings of your salt and pepper chicken!

Incidentally, it resembles a dish at an Americanized Chinese restaurant in NYC's Chinatown that is prepared with bone-in wings, definitely deep-fried but not breaded... I wonder if there is a continuity there.

Impressed at your flipping technique as well. Thanks, I'll give a version of this a try.

[liuzhou]

Unfortunately there is no pepper in the salt and pepper mix listed.

But top tosser, yes.

Edited October 20, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[Dejah]

^{I can still see my Mom "frying" salt and pepper for dipping pieces of meat into, or sprinkling on top of a dish just before serving. Nostalgic ...}

[Prawncrackers]

I like this dish but I generally haven't seen it before with chicken chunks. Usually chicken wings, the middle wing - the best bit! This recipe is ok, could do with a lot of refinement. Green finger chillies (the Indian type) I think are best for this they give good sharp pepper bite that's not too hot and the garlic should be minced finer like in the photo. Ideally the salt should be toasted first and also any spice mix if you are using it.

[dcarch]

It is a lot of fun and impressive to be able to toss food in a wok, I do it all the time, but there is no real purpose in terms of ending up a more delicious dish. It is mostly showmanship, IMHO. It is very useful if you work in a busy kitchen and have to handle three woks at the same time.

Thank you for sharing the video. Very interesting and informative. Just a quick suggestion:

I know most people know about being careful handling raw chicken, but for forum like this, you never know. You may want to add a quick statement to your video about food safety.

This is not a criticism, not even a suggestion. Just my own preference if I was to make this dish. I generally add scallions at the very end. I find I get better flavor and color from the scallions (spring onion). I also like to add a few drops of sesame oil at the last moment.

dcarch

Edited October 21, 2012 by dcarch (log)

[patrickamory]

Ideally the salt should be toasted first

I've never heard of toasting salt! Intriguing. Please can you shed more light?

[dcarch]

Ideally the salt should be toasted first

I've never heard of toasting salt! Intriguing. Please can you shed more light?

When you go to a Chinese restaurant, that little dish of salt is often toasted salt.

dcarch