Lunch (and dinner):
新疆大盘鸡 (xīn jiāng dà pán jī) - Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken
I seem to be on a Xinjiang cuisine trip. No apologies.
Actually invented by a Sichuanese chef who emigrated to Xinjiang, China's north-western mainly Muslim province bordering Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, this dish is of chicken and potato* with typical Sichuan flavours - chilli and Sichuan peppercorns. It is normally served over noodles or these are served separately at the end to mop up the juices. It is a huge robust dish.
Most Xinjiang restaurant s here in town offer two versions the standard and a small. It is always amusing to watch a couple come in and the man (always the man) insisting that he is hungry so must order the larger one and a few side dishes. They are never able to put much of a dent in it. The restaurant is happy!
Hence, this will do me for two meals. It heats up well.
That dish / container is 10 inches / 255mm in diameter.
Big Plate Chicken 大盘鸡
*The potato marks it out. Potatoes are not particularly common in most Chinese cooking. In fact, they are looked down on upon as peasant food by many. Only one other dish springs to mind. These slivered potatoes (often mixed with carrot slivers) with chilli and vinegar. Delicious.
