Ingredients
1 whole tender chicken, dressed and cleaned (about 500 g / 1 lb), 50 g (about 3 1/2 tablespoons) fresh broth.
Seasonings
500 g (about 1 quart) vegetable oil, 20 g sugar, 10 g each ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, vinegar, and scallions, 5 g sesame oil, 4 g each dried chilies and dried tangerine peel, 3 g salt.
Instructions
1. Wipe the dried chili peppers clean, remove the stems and seeds, and cut into short sections; rinse the dried tangerine peel and tear into pieces; after cleaning the young chicken, remove the head, neck, and feet, debone, and cut the meat into roughly 2 cm (about 3/4 inch) cubes, place in a bowl, and mix well with ginger, scallions, cooking wine, salt, and soy sauce to marinate.
2. Place the wok over high heat, add vegetable oil and heat to about 150°C (300°F). Remove the ginger and scallion from the chicken pieces, drain off any water, then fry the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken, discard the frying oil. Add about 150 g (about 2/3 cup) fresh vegetable oil to the wok and heat. Briefly fry dried chili segments, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried tangerine peel. Immediately add the chicken back, pour in a small amount of fresh broth, and add the sweet-and-sour sauce mixture.
3. Reduce the sauce over medium heat until the oil separates, then remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil to taste, let cool, and plate. This dish is glossy red, with a bold, numbing-spicy flavor and tender, aromatic richness.