Saturday, February 12, 2011

Bang Bang Ji Si 棒棒雞絲 Bang Bang Chicken - Reunion Dinner 2011 Part 2


I can't imagine a reunion dinner without a white cut chicken (白斬雞, bai zhan ji) but since the other tummy couldn't quite get the idea of a plate of poached chicken, I decided to turned it into something that is more agreeable with his "white palate". Bang bang chicken (棒棒雞絲, bang bang ji si) otherwise known as strange flavour chicken (怪味雞絲, guai wei ji si) is probably as well known as another chicken dish from Sichuan, namely the ever popular gong bao chicken (宮保雞丁, gong bao ji ding) outside of Sichuan. A wooden cudgel (棒, bang) is used to loosen the fibres of the chicken, hence the rather perculiar sounding name. Since "bang" is also a slang for fantastic in Mandarin, I think it is absolutely appropriate to be served on reunion dinner. If you are unable to obtain sesame paste, tahini will make a wonderful substitute. 



recipe adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery
serves 4 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1/2 a poached chicken*, skinned (optional), boned and shredded 
6 spring onions, cut into sections and sliced finely lengthwise
1 continental cucumber, cut into sections and sliced lengthwise to match the chicken slivers
3 tsp of toasted sesame seeds
3 tsp of toasted crushed peanuts
*to poach a whole chicken - bring a pot of water (with 2 sping onions, white part only, 5 cm piece of crushed ginger, a dash of Chinese cooking wine and salt to taste) to a boil. Add chicken breast side down and when the water returns to a boil, lower the flame and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the flame off , cover on and let the chicken steep until the stock cools down. 

for the dressing;
1 tbs of white sugar
1 tbs of light soy
1 tbs of Chingkiang vinegar (鎮江香醋) or Chinese black vinegar (黑醋)
3 tbs of smooth Chinese sesame paste (芝麻醬) 
1 tsp of Sichuan pepper (川椒), toasted and ground
1 tbs of sesame oil
2 tbs of chilli oil with sediment (辣椒油)



Prepare the cucumber and place the spring onion slivers in a bowl of iced water.



Prepare the dressing by mixing all the dressing ingredients well.



Use a rolling pin to loosen the fibres of the chicken meat and shred into fine slivers. 



Place chicken slivers on top of the cucumber slivers....



Drizzle the dressing over and scatter the spring onion slivers, toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts over.



Mix well and serve this as part of a Chinese meal.

19 comments:

  1. What a delicious salad. I love the exotic flavors in your dishes. There is always a delicious surprise on your blog.

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  2. What a great post! I love hearing the whys as well as the hows! I will try this dish!

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  3. I heard about this dish name b4 but never try it yet!I did tried "bang bang mein" in american chinese restaurant..I bet it's must taste good!!

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  4. Harriet from carltonFebruary 12, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    Very nice and summery. Love it!

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  5. Wow just discovered your blog and I think I have bookmarked every recipe I've read so far! This one looks great, pondering using the flavors for our sandwich themed Sunday lunch tomorrow.

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  6. satu lagi menu yang sihat dari dapur Tummy

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  7. The dressing i could eat with my fingers alone!

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  8. Oh, I thought bang-bang was what you did to the chicken, you know, whack it with the rolling pin :) Sounds delicious, will have to try it soon. Perfect light meal.

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  9. Its a lovely salad. I am hosting Innovative Salads event. I would be very glad if you will link this delicious salad with the event. thanks in advance

    Cook Healthy

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  10. Délicieux.
    j'aime beaucoup ces saveurs.
    A très bientôt.

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  11. This does look so much better than a plate of poached chicken...I have everything to make this except for the smooth sesame paste...I'll have to look for it.

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  12. très riche en saveurs, j'aime beaucoup
    bonne journée

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  13. Wow! Awesome dish for a reunion dinner.

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  14. Gosh, your bang bang chicken looks so much like 'lou sang' and it sure is mouth-watering!

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  15. Nice recipe and I am intrigued by the technique with the veggies.

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  16. Thanks for the recipe, I ate once when my cousin made it years ago. I think I wanna try this on my own :D

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  17. This looks awsome buddy and I am waiting for the next dish :)

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  18. What a good looking dish!
    Veggies and chicken can make a very healthy meal, and I think sesame paste makes a difference.

    Big hugs!
    Bxx

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  19. Cooked this on the weekend, it uses a few ingredients I'd never used before and I don't think the sauce came out quite right.

    The chilli oil I got had more of a kick to it than I was expecting and the sesame paste I got was too thick. This made the first attempt at the sauce a way too hot and way too thick.

    Second time round reducing the sesame and chilli oil was a significant improvement, but still wasn't quite right. I have cooked very little authentic Chinese so it is a learning process with balancing the flavours.

    On the plus side the chicken itself was moist and delicious with the cucumber being a wonderful accompaniment.

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