Here is a dish you might see on a menu in a Sichuan restaurant. It is another one of my hometown specialties. Kou Shui Ji, which means “Mouth Watering Chicken” but it is sometimes translated as “Chicken in Chili Sauce.”  I guess the reason people called it mouth watering chicken was that when you look at the dish your mouth starts to water, it is that good!!  This is a cold dish of tender poached chicken (commonly using young free range rooster) in a spicy Sichuan hot chili oil and other spices. It is like a lot of other Sichuan dishes, a lot of restaurants would have their own twist on how they would make the same dish, to have a unique flavor. Here is my version: (since I can’t find a young free range rooster, I used Cornish hen. The texture would be different but the flavor should be pretty close)

Ingredients:

1 Cornish Hen

2 Green Onion (White Parts only)

1 inch Ginger (Sliced)

Sauce:

1 tbsp Sweet Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Vinegar

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Sichuan Peppercorn Oil

2 tsp Sichuan Peppercorn Powder

1 tbsp Sesame Paste

1 tbsp Garlic Paste

1 tbsp Ginger Paste

2 tbsp Sesame Oil

3 tbsp Hot Chill Oil

2 tbsp Rice Wine

1 1/2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds

2 tbsp Toasted Peanut (crushed)

Green Onion to garnish

Directions:

• Clean the chicken and cover the chicken with cold water in a medium pot along with green onion and ginger, bring to boil and keep cooking for about 10-20 minutes (based on the size of the chicken)
• Once chicken is cooked, take the chicken out and soak it in ice water for a few minutes, drain it
• Cut the chicken with the bones in and arrange it in a bowl
• Mix all ingredients for the sauce, except sesame seeds and onion, pour on the chicken
• Garnish with sesame seeds and onion, enjoy!!

For some reason, I was craving this garlic pork for a few days.  I mentioned it to my Mom on the phone and she just laughed so hard and said you might have to do it yourself since you won’t find it anywhere where you live. Yes, I really want it, but I was not sure if I would take the time and go through the trouble to actually make it. Well, I guess finally my cravings won the battle. I just couldn’t  say no to good yummy food!!

This garlic pork salad is a well known dish from my home province of Sichuan. It looks simple and does not involve much of preparation but it is not very easy to get it right. First of all, you need to have the right kind of pork meat, which is the pork leg meat with skin and fat on; second, cooking the meat involves cooking it to the right texture, it should not be cooked too hard or too soft; then, the cooked pork has to be sliced thin; finally, the more important factor in this dish is the sauce, and in order to have better tasting pork, the soy sauce as well as the hot chill oil used in this recipe are to be specially infused with herbs and spices.

Since I have  some of the special sweet soy sauce on hand, when I had made some when I did the sweet and spicy noodle,  I went ahead and made some hot chill oil as well to have everything ready for this garlic pork dish.  The end result was pretty good! It was well worth the time and effort. Here is how, and the hot oil recipe is included below.

Ingredients:

250g Pork Leg Meat (with skin and fat on)

2 Green Onion

1 inch Fresh Ginger

Sauce:

4 tsp Sweet Soy Sauce

2-3 tbsp Hot Chill Oil (see below)

4 tsp Garlic Paste

1 tsp Sesame Oil

1-2 tsp Sugar

Directions:

• In a medium pot, cover pork with cold water and bring to boil; take out any floating foam, add ginger and green onion and cook for about 10 minutes
• Turn off the heat and let the pork soak in the water for about 25 minutes
• Take the pork out of the pot and pat dry, slice it to thin pieces
• Arrange sliced pork on a plate (If you prefer, add some cucumber slices to the pork as well)
• Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and pour it on the pork
• Enjoy

Hot Chill Oil:

• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Five Star Anise
• 1 inch Fresh Ginger
• 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
• 1 piece Chinese Cinnamon
• 3 Cloves
• 1 tsp Sichuan Peppercorn
• 2 pieces Green Onion (only the white part)
• 1 Black Chinese Cardamom
• 1 Sha Jiang （find it in Asian grocery store)
• 1 cup fine Chill Pepper Powder (Koren Chill Pepper Powder for example)
• 2 tbsp Sesame Seeds
• 2 1/2 cup Canola Oil

Directions:

• Add oil to a small pot and bring to simmer
• Cool the oil slightly, add ginger, green onion; turn heat to low and add all ingredients except sesame seeds to the pot and simmer for about 30 minutes
• Add sesame seed to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes more
• Cool the oil in a refrigerator with all spices for about 24 hours
• Filter the oil into a clean jar and discard the spices and pepper powder
• Keep the oil in an air tight jar in the fridge for about a couple of weeks

This recipe was on one of Food Network’s shows that I watched few years back. It sounded very interesting, so I tried it. It was worth trying and now I make this recipe often. It is a good recipe for using leftover chicken or turkey. If I don’t have any leftovers on hand, I would pan fry some chicken breasts and use it in this recipe. It is quick to make and tastes pretty good, too. The curry chicken mixture has layers of flavors: it is sweet, tangy, creamy and with a little spicy kick. I have modified the recipe a little, you could add different nuts or dry fruit you prefer; add some greens or tomato to your sandwich also  if you like.  This is definitely a keeper in my family. The bread used in this recipe could be found through Parker House Roll

Ingredients:

1 pound Boneless and Skinless cooked Chicken (Shredded)

3/4 cup Plain Yogurt

6 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Curry Powder

1 tsp Cumin Powder

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp Wasabi Paste (optional)

6 tbsp Cranberries or Raisins

6 tbsp Cashew Nuts

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Mix everything together well except the cashew nuts
• Add the mixture onto  sandwich bread or warp
• Sprinkle the nuts, serve!