Spicy Chinese Chicken

Seems like a lot, but it really is not, and if the ingredients seem foreign to you, feel free to visit your local Asian market or the ethnic aisle at your grocery store.

Start by making your slurry. Add the chicken stock to a small mixing bowl, then whisk in the corn starch until it is nice and smooth.

To another large bowl, add the rice wine, black bean paste, chili oil, and soy sauce, and stir. Add the chicken and mix well.

Heat wok on medium to medium high heat. Toss in pink peppercorns, and stir those around for about 30 seconds. This will release some of their oils and let the peppercorns get nice and fragrant. After you smell them, remove them and lightly crush them in your spice grinder, or mortar and pestle, you choose.

Return the wok to medium high heat. Add the canola oil and let it heat. Toss in the onion, garlic, ginger, and crushed pink peppercorns. Stir fry that for 30 seconds or so, then add the entire chicken mixture. Raise the heat, and start stir frying.

Right when the chicken begins to turn color, stir the slurry mixture one more time, then add that to the stir fry. Give it a good stir. This will begin to thicken a bit and give you a really great sauce that you will love eating with the rice. If you are using a dry chili of any kind, toss that in.

Once the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through, add in about half of the sliced green onions. Give that a stir, then add everything to your serving dish. Shower the top with the remaining green onions.

To serve, simply get a bowl, add some rice, and spoon on generous amounts of the spicy Chinese chicken. You get that great garlic and ginger flavor that you expect with a great stir fry, and then that hint of pink peppercorn that is balanced with the Shao Hsing rice wine. This is a good one, easy to make, and is perfect any day of the week. Hope you enjoy.