Pictorial: Gan Bian Ji!

(dry-fried chicken)

main ingredients

1 X big chicken breast (sliced)
1 CUP celery (sliced)
1/2 CUP scallion (sliced)
1/2 CUP leek (sliced)
1 CUP cooked rice
3 TBSP peanut oil
4 TBSP rice wine

marinade ingredients

1 TSP soy sauce
1 TSP rice wine
1 TSP starch

sauce ingredients

1 TBSP peanut oil
1 TBSP hoisin sauce
1 TBSP rice wine
2 TBSP chili flakes, powder or whole dried ones
1 TSP whole szechuan peppercorns
1 TSP sambal olek
1 TSP sesame oil
1 TSP dark soy sauce
1 TSP honey
1 TSP dry garlic powder (fresh one would burn)

cucumber salad ingredients

1 X half cucumber
1/2 CUP minced scallion green
1/2 CUP minced leek green
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP light soy sauce
1 TBSP rice wine
1 TBSP veg oil
1 TSP rice wine vinegar
1 TSP chili flakes
1 TSP sesame oil
1 TSP honey

coleslaw ingredients

1 X half white cabbage (shredded)
2 TBSP veg oil
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
1 TSP soy sauce
1/2 TSP honey or sugar
1 TSP salt and pepper (more or less)
1 TSP sesame oil (pressed from roasted seeds, the dark one)
1 TSP black sesame

no pics of the coleslaw prep, just shred the cabbage and mix with the other ingredients,
best done a couple of hours in advance, the coleslaw needs some time to develop its full flavour

slice the chicken and marinate with marinade ingredients while prep'ing the rest

ground szechuan peppercorns and mix with the remaining sauce ingredients,
(this recipe is quite mild, add more heat with more sambal olek, szechuan pepper or chili flakes)

quarter the cucumber into bit-sized chunks and dress with remaining cucumber salad ingredients



add peanut oil to pan/wok and crank up the heat until it's smoking, then add the sliced chicken



brown the chicken, no need to cook it all the way through at this point



add sliced celery and stir-fry for a moment



remove from the burner and add the sauce to the pan

(adding the sauce at full heat is dangerous, it will burn quickly, too quickly)



stir well and return to medium-high heat



stir-fry until almost dry, then add the sliced leek/scallion



dry-fry a bit further, but don't wilt the greens too much, then add a small drizzle of rice wine,
just enough to deglaze the pan (2-4 TBSP at most), stir while it's vaporizing, this will
transform the pan-glaze to a chicken-glaze



serve right away with rice, cucumber salad and black-sesame-garnished coleslaw




some of the pics are a little blurred, everything had to be done hasty ... so think of it as motion-blur :P