Mr Mellish
Well-Known Member
I had always wondered why the chicken in Chinese food seemed more tender. Serious Eats helped me to understand that this is due to "velveting" of the meat. It's a form of marinade and, when used, sauteing the meat at high temps in a wok will not produce burned, chewy chicken.
Tonight, I made my first attempt at velveting to produce a Sichuan chicken recipe. It was phenomenal. Here is where I varied:
1. I didn't have time to check the Asian market. In place of the Shaoxing wine, I used dry sherry.
2. I added onion.
3. I added mini Bella mushroom caps (sliced).
4. I didn't have the peppers but I had ground Thai peppers. I put 1/4 tsp of it into the Ziploc bag I was using to marinate and then poured it out. Enough stuck to the sides of the bag to provide heat (I made kimchi with this stuff and it was the hottest thing I've ever made in my life--going for the high end of the recommended ground pepper--looking at the kimchi made my lips and face burn).
Sorry, no pics, but here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/sichuan-chicken-with-peppercorns-and-chile-recipe.html
I wasn't even aware of Sichuan peppercorns until I had this amazing meal in Shanghai. The peppercorns produce this mouth numbness that is strangely addictive.
Tonight, I made my first attempt at velveting to produce a Sichuan chicken recipe. It was phenomenal. Here is where I varied:
1. I didn't have time to check the Asian market. In place of the Shaoxing wine, I used dry sherry.
2. I added onion.
3. I added mini Bella mushroom caps (sliced).
4. I didn't have the peppers but I had ground Thai peppers. I put 1/4 tsp of it into the Ziploc bag I was using to marinate and then poured it out. Enough stuck to the sides of the bag to provide heat (I made kimchi with this stuff and it was the hottest thing I've ever made in my life--going for the high end of the recommended ground pepper--looking at the kimchi made my lips and face burn).
Sorry, no pics, but here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/sichuan-chicken-with-peppercorns-and-chile-recipe.html
I wasn't even aware of Sichuan peppercorns until I had this amazing meal in Shanghai. The peppercorns produce this mouth numbness that is strangely addictive.