Oil-Splashed Zhuang Chicken
A traditional Hunan dish made from a whole chicken simmered for flavor, then drenched with hot oil. The chicken is fragrant and crispy outside while tender and soft inside.
Ingredients
tender hen (cleaned and drained)
1 (about 1500 g)
peanut oil
1500 g (100 g actually used)
cooking wine
50 g
fine salt
8 g
Sichuan peppercorns
1.5 g
scallions (crushed)
25 g
ginger (crushed)
25 g
sugar
5 g
rock sugar
10 g
original soy sauce
50 g
Instructions
1
Marinate the chicken
Drain the cleaned chicken. Crush the scallions and ginger. Mix with the fine salt, sugar, and Sichuan peppercorns, then rub the mixture thoroughly over both the outside and inside of the chicken. Place the chicken in a clay bowl and marinate for about 1 hour. Remove the scallions and ginger before cooking.
2
Slow-cook the chicken
Line a large clay bowl with a bamboo mat and place the chicken inside. Add the Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, cooking wine, rock sugar, and clear water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer until the chicken is soft and tender. Remove and drain.
3
Oil-splashing
Heat the peanut oil in a wok over high heat until it reaches about 80% hot. Hook the whole chicken under the wings with an iron hook. Hold the hook handle and suspend the chicken just above the oil surface. Use a ladle to scoop the hot oil and pour it over the chicken, starting with the body and legs, then the back and head. Splash the oil several extra times over the thicker parts until the skin becomes crisp and turns a deep red color.
4
Plating
Place the chicken on a cutting board. Remove the breastbone, spine, and the large bones of the legs and wings. Cut off the claws. Split the head and neck in half lengthwise, then cut the neck into 5 cm long segments. Cut the chicken meat into strips 5 cm long and 3 cm wide. Reassemble the pieces into the shape of a whole chicken on a serving plate and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve with four small side dishes of dipping sauce: Sichuan pepper salt, scallion segments tossed with sesame oil, fried peanuts, and sweet bean paste.
