

The dish typically has a thicker sauce than Hunan chicken.īoth dishes are served with steamed white rice, but Hunan chicken is often spicier and served with vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms. The chicken is battered and fried and then stir fried with Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, carrot strips, egg, cornstarch, dry sherry, chopped green onions, vegetable oil, cayenne pepper, crushed red chilies, and soy sauce. Szechuan chicken is a bold, sweet, and spicy chicken dish with a citrus fragrance made from similar ingredients, minus the chili paste, but it still has the mala element.

Then, the chicken breast is stir fried in chili peppers, scallions, chicken broth, cornstarch, wine vinegar, sugar, salt, anise pepper, and doubanjiang (豆瓣醬, dòubànjiàng), a paste of chili peppers, fermented broad beans, and soybeans, rendering a mala (麻辣, málà), or numbing and piquant sensation.

The chicken is marinated in soy sauce, shredded ginger, and sherry. Hunan chicken (湖南鸡, Húnán jī) is a dry seasoned, spicy chicken dish. Both provinces are known for their spicy and hot dishes. Hunan is in southern China and Sichuan is in southwest China. First, and most obvious, is that they come from different parts of China. There are several differences between Hunan chicken and Szechuan chicken. It’s traditionally served over white rice, but use brown rice if you’re feeling healthy. One of the best things about this dish is how much you can customize it to fit your tastes: make it super spicy, or tone down the spice and up the sweetness. Szechuan chicken has a unique spicy-savory-sweet flavor that distinguishes it from other types of spicy dishes, such as Hunan chicken or kung pao chicken. When eaten, the Sichuan peppercorns create a numbing effect that enhances the dish's flavor. The Sichuan peppercorns are what give Szechuan chicken a unique flavor.
SZECHUAN CHICKEN FULL
This Chinese dish is spelled several ways you may have seen it on a menu as Sichuan chicken or Szechwan chicken, and it can also be known as Mala chicken (麻辣鸡, málà jī) and Lazi chicken (辣子鸡, Làzǐ jī), but all variations have the same thing in common: they're full of tingly heat. While exact Szechuan chicken recipes may vary depending on where it is served, Szechuan chicken at its core is a simple stir fry dish of chicken (traditionally chicken thigh), dried red chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili bean paste. You can also throw in peanuts or sesame seeds for added texture. Often, there are more peppers in the dish than pieces of chicken! Seasonings like garlic, ginger, star anise, and sesame paste round the dish out for a fiery party in your mouth. Sichuan's most iconic dish is distinguished by its liberal use of peppers. You don’t need to go any further than your kitchen to bring this great dish to life.Īs its name suggests, Szechuan chicken is a popular dish from Sichuan, China. Plus, Szechuan chicken is quick and easy to make. Popular American Chinese dishes like Szechuan chicken (四川鸡, Sìchuān jī) are milder but equally aromatic and flavorful.

The ban was lifted so long as the pepper was cooked for a certain amount of time at a certain heat, effectively removing the flavor the pepper is so known for. Szechuan peppers were actually banned in the United States from 1968 up until 2005 for fear of spreading a citrus-affecting bacterium known as citrus canker. What makes Sichuan cuisine unique is the liberal use of peppers and the addition of fragrant Sichuan peppers, which, when eaten, create a numbing sensation thanks to hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, a molecule found in some plants. Located in Southwest, China, Sichuan is famous for its bold, fiery dishes filled with Sichuan peppercorn (花椒, huājiāo), chili peppers, and facing heaven peppers (朝天椒, cháotiān jiāo). Sichuan cuisine is considered one of the Eight Great Traditions in Chinese cuisine, each of which are considered to be the most praised regional cuisines in China. The focus on heat and spice, particularly from the peppers, is one of the most distinct elements of cooking Szechuan dishes and helps to set this type of cuisine apart from other regional dishes. Some of the most popular American Chinese dishes, like Szechuan chicken, come from Sichuan, China, a province famous for its hot and spicy dishes.
