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Recipe for Dry-Fried Young Chicken

Finished Dry-Fried Young Chicken

Dry-Fried Young Chicken is a sweet and spicy Sichuan dish developed by Zhao Chunyue, the head chef at Peking University's cafeteria. It is widely loved by teachers and students. Chef Zhao has made the recipe public to help everyone cook it at home, making it an essential dish for meals during pandemic lockdowns!

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

  • Chicken legs
  • Potatoes
  • Green peppers
  • Garlic
  • Salt
  • Black pepper powder
  • Light soy sauce
  • Dark soy sauce
  • Cooking wine
  • Cornstarch
  • Pixian red oil broad bean paste (Note: distinguish this from the brownish broad bean paste)
  • White sugar
  • Crushed Sichuan peppercorns

Quantities

Serves 1-2:

  • Chicken leg meat 400g
  • Potatoes 200g
  • Green peppers 60g
  • Garlic cloves 10g
  • Salt 3g
  • Chicken essence 3g (optional)
  • Black pepper powder 2g
  • Light soy sauce 5g
  • Dark soy sauce 2g
  • Cooking wine 5g
  • Cornstarch 20g
  • Pixian red oil broad bean paste 40g
  • White sugar 30g
  • Crushed Sichuan peppercorns 2g

Instructions

  • Remove the bones from the chicken legs (if using boneless chicken leg steaks, skip this step). Use the back of a knife to gently pound the chicken meat, then cut it into 2cm cubes.
  • Add salt, chicken essence (optional), black pepper powder, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and cooking wine to the chicken cubes. Mix until sticky, then add cornstarch and mix well. Add a little cooking oil to prevent sticking, and marinate for 30 minutes.
  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2cm cubes. Boil in water for 5 minutes, then remove and drain well to prevent splattering during frying.
  • Remove the seeds from the green peppers and cut them into 2cm small pieces. Place them in a strainer and set aside.
  • Add a generous amount of oil to the wok (enough to submerge the ingredients depending on the wok's shape). Heat the oil to 180°C, then fry the potato cubes for 3 minutes before removing them.
  • When the oil temperature rises back to 180°C, add the chicken cubes and fry for 2 minutes before removing them.
  • When the oil temperature rises back to 180°C, return the chicken cubes to the oil for a second fry for 1 minute before removing them.
  • When the oil temperature rises back to 180°C, return the potato cubes to the oil for a second fry for 1 minute. Then, pour out the oil and potato cubes through the strainer, allowing the green pepper pieces on the strainer to blanch slightly.
  • Add 5ml of cooking oil to the wok. Stir-fry the garlic cloves over low heat until golden. Add the red oil broad bean paste and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the white sugar and stir until melted. Add the crushed Sichuan peppercorns, then add 40ml of water. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens.
  • Add the fried chicken cubes, potato cubes, and green pepper pieces. Stir well to combine, then serve.

Additional Notes

  • If you prefer not to use a large amount of oil for deep-frying, you can pan-fry the chicken and potato cubes with less oil. This will increase the cooking time and slightly affect the texture, but it will not significantly impact the overall flavor.
  • Reference: Official Information from Peking University Catering Center

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement while following the workflow in this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull Request.