# La Zi Ji! That's spicy fried chicken, Sichuan style!



## oval99 (Jun 18, 2017)

Saw the thread on doubanjiang (spicy Sichuanese chili bean paste), and that prompted me to post my recent experience making one of my favorite Sichuan dishes, La Zi Ji (literally, "chicken with chilies"). See photos for final product.

First, if you haven't already, I'd go to the Mala Project's website. It's a US-based Sichuan cooking blog with great recipes which has a new store that stocks excellent quality Sichuan ingredients, sourced directly from Sichuan. I got my Sichuan peppercorns there (WAY more tingling than those found in a Chinese grocery), star anise, cassia bark, and those great facing-heaven Sichuan peppers.

Anyway, the site has a great recipe for La Zi Ji, which is basically the Sichuan (Chongquing, specifically) version of spicy fried chicken. However, I knew I could do better. For years I've wanted to make this dish, saying wistfully to myself, "one day, one day" as the calendar pages flew by :lol2: After failed attempts and more Chinese cooking under my belt, I realized that missing from this recipe and the one found in Fuschia Dunlop's otherwise-excellent "Land of Plenty" (a book of Sichuanese cooking) are some crucial ingredients: Doubanjiang, long green peppers, and hong you (spicy red chili oil that's in so many Sichuan dishes). The owner of the Sichuan restaurant wouldn't tell me exactly how they made it, but when I showed him the pics and told him what I did, he said that my method is pretty much how they make it. Confirmation enough for me:wink:

I'll run through my modifications if someone else wants to make this tremendous dish.

1) First, make the hong you using the Mala Project recipe. I left out the ginger. NOTE: For best flavor, keep the oil in the fridge for a day or two before using. It will get hotter the longer it's stored. In the fridge it should last for 2-3 months. I ended up using 1.5 tbsp of it which I added at the end in step 5. This was a good amount.
2) Next, get yourself some long green peppers. You can find them in Indian or Chinese groceries. I used about 2 ounces roughly chopped peppers.
3) Because Sichuan peppercorns can overwhelm the other flavors, I mellowed them a bit by first frying them in a wok on a low heat with about 2 tsp peanut oil until they were smoking just a bit. Be careful not to burn them. I then ground them in a spice grinder and ended up using only 1/4 tsp ground pepper, not the full tbsp. In the future, I'm thinking of going to about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp to increase the wonderful scent/perfume of the peppercorn while still not having the peppercorn overwhelm the other flavors.
4) I used only 1 tsp Cayenne and did not include the chili flakes. The heat was there, but it was a slight creeping heat. I like my la zi ji on the hot side, so next time I'm thinking of doubling the Cayenne (2 tsp) and using the chili flakes in step 4, which I left out before.
5) In step 4, add the doubanjiang with the 4 tbsp frying oil. This is critical: the doubanjiang is a flavor bomb. I added 1 tbsp for this try, but next time I'm thinking of going up to 1.5 tbsp because I can't get enough.
6) The only "failure" of this attempt was the long green peppers were kinda mushy. I wanted them to be crisp and only slightly blistered, so next time I am going to add them with the chili flakes, sesame seeds, scallions, etc in step 4. 

I hope this helps! Long live la zi ji!


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## panda (Jun 18, 2017)

Yum!


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## jessf (Jun 18, 2017)

Posssibly my most favorite dish.


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## TheCaptain (Jun 18, 2017)

ugg. Sorry but that's pushing the boundaries my german/irish/mutt genes can handle.

Now that KNIFE on the other hand, let's talk!

ETA - does look delicious though. Wish I could tolerate really spicy food.


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## valgard (Jun 19, 2017)

Thx for sharing


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## Badgertooth (Jun 19, 2017)

Yes!! Great post and something I'm building up to making. This is my benchmark from a spot in town near where I work.


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## Sillywizard (Jun 19, 2017)

O'boy does look and sound so tantalizing! I'm going to have to see about sourcing these ingredients and work towards making this dish, thanks for sharing and bringing it to my attention!


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Jun 19, 2017)

Only thing that strikes an instinctive wrong chord with me is a sharp cleaver so near a ceramic plate 

@TheCaptain you realize you are not supposed to eat up all the red peppers, right? They are usually tough, oily and no longer very flavorful in that kind of dish...mostly there for infusion... just make sure you don't lazily toss them into the paper recycling bin if that happens to be the nearest thrash receptacle. They make bog roll from recycled paper these days.


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## Nemo (Jun 19, 2017)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> Only thing that strikes an instinctive wrong chord with me is a sharp cleaver so near a ceramic plate
> 
> @TheCaptain you realize you are not supposed to eat up all the red peppers, right? They are usually tough, oily and no longer very flavorful in that kind of dish...mostly there for infusion... just make sure you don't lazily toss them into the paper recycling bin if that happens to be the nearest thrash receptacle. They make bog roll from recycled paper these days.



Just another opportunity to practice sharpening


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## Noodle Soup (Jun 19, 2017)

Shopping for the peppers to go in my own Sichuan fried chicken in Chengdu. My instructor is doing the bargaining.


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## oval99 (Jun 20, 2017)

Wow noodlesoup! As the kids would say, I'm "mad jelly" about your opportunity to make this dish in Sichuan! Looking at those bags of chilies makes me hope that someday the US could be as sophisticated about fresh produce so authentic Chinese cooking would be that much more accessible. I really think Americans are finally developing a palate for real Chinese food, so perhaps this could happen.


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## Noodle Soup (Jun 20, 2017)

I probably don't need to tell you this but those Sichuan peppers aren't near as hot as the Thai kind. I was about ready to panic when I saw my instructor shoveling them in dishes by the heaping handful. Turned out it really wasn't that much of a problem. While I'm a hot, spicy food lover, there are limits. Hot and numb Sichuan pepper corns I still have mixed feeling about.


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 20, 2017)

i'm typically not a fan of that dish. i like the flavor, arent the peppers more of the seasoning? you dont eat them right? they are dry and unchewable for me.

i can handle heat, but there is something about those dry peppers that take it to the next level for me.


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## foody518 (Jun 20, 2017)

Nice looking la zi ji 

This was the dish that got me trying spicy foods and working to increase my pitiful tolerance (mostly unsuccessful, but oh well) because I just loved the overall flavors so freakin much


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## Noodle Soup (Jun 20, 2017)

boomchakabowwow said:


> i'm typically not a fan of that dish. i like the flavor, arent the peppers more of the seasoning? you dont eat them right? they are dry and unchewable for me.
> 
> i can handle heat, but there is something about those dry peppers that take it to the next level for me.



In my experience the Chinese will tell westerners they don't have to eat them if they don't want to. But then the Chinese themselves will eat every last bit of them. I had a similar conversation with an instructor in Hanoi. She was showing me how to scrape the seeds out of a hot pepper to cool it down a bit but then added most Viets never bothered. 

I've eaten my share of the peppers in Sichuan dishes without any problems but you are right, they are bit tougher than some other chili varieties.


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## toddnmd (Jun 20, 2017)

I never eat the dried peppers in that dish. And some places use a higher ratio. I do tend to eat more than I should--recently had to get the milk out to stop the burn, and apparently my lips started to swell. But it was yummy.


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## oval99 (Jun 21, 2017)

Some good responses here. As far as I know, the red chilies in this dish are really a garnish. People inevitably freak out when they first see it until they realize the peppers don't necessarily have to be eaten. 

And yes, I know what you mean about Thai chilies noodlesoup! Those things can be nuclear. But they're great because it's an easy way to up the heat level in a dish (if used sparingly!). And they have that bell pepper taste going on too. 

As for Sichuan peppers: yes, they are not as spicy as others. This is especially helpful because a liberal amount of hong you (oil infused with Sichuan pepper flakes) can be used on dishes without fear of it making the dish too hot. Hong you just adds an amazing toasty flavor and a slight creeping heat. It's good on so many Sichuan dishes.


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## StonedEdge (Jun 21, 2017)

Hey thanks for sharing this! And nice cleaver


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Jun 22, 2017)

@noodle soup oh I could eat a dried "facing heaven" kinda pepper straight - i just find dried, reconstituted, whole chile peppers not very palatable  And hey, in recent years i have seen a lot of dried peppers that are more like the chinese ones sold/exported under thai brands (~4-7cm, dark ruby red) and they are great for curry paste too, especially since you can use a lot and get a lot of flavor and color without going nuclear.).


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## oval99 (Jun 22, 2017)

Thanks for the outpouring everyone. Nice to know I'm on the right track with my home cooking.

FYI: If you want a great source for (dried) Thai chilies, the best I've found are the "Madam Wong" brand. Very spicy and of consistent quality (been buying bags of 'em for years). You can order them at Import Food, a great US-based supplier of Thai foods and assorted goods. Got a 7" mortar and pestle from them and it's a great value (plenty big). Never been disappointed with their service either.


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