Chengdu Chicken with Black Beans, Chiles, and Peanuts

There are only a small number of chefs that I follow on social media or the Internet; and, I follow them for very specific reasons. For example, I follow chef Sean Sherman, who is reviving Native American foodways through education and, more recently, through practice with his restaurant, Owamni. I also follow chef Michael Symon because, at first, he is a home-town chef, but, in recent years, he has been doing great work in promoting anti-inflammatory recipes and cooking. And then there is chef Andrew Zimmern, whose work on television and in the kitchen helped to expand my thinking about exploring new cuisines. These opportunities led to my desire to also learn more about the cultures in which those cuisines arise. And, for the few who follow this blog, it may explain much of what I post and why.

So when I get recipes from Andrew Zimmern, especially those involving dishes from around the world, I take notice. One particular recipe caught my eye: Chengdu Chicken with Black Beans, Chiles and Peanuts.  I got that recipe from Zimmern's weekly newsletter back on October 16, 2018. I bookmarked it with every intention of making that dish. However, for a variety of reasons, it took me more than two and one-half years to actually make the dish. The wait was entirely worth it.

The new ingredients: toban djan and
douchi (fermented black beans)

One reason why it took me a while to make this dish is that the recipe called for the use of ingredients that I had not used in the past. There is toban djan (or doubanjiang), which is a fermented chile bean paste. The paste is made from fermented broad beans, chiles, soybeans, salt and flour. Toban djan has been called the "soul of Sichuan cuisine," because it figures prominently in many well known provincial dishes. There is also douchi or fermented black beans. And, as I discovered, they are not just any fermented black beans. Douchi have been found in sealed in a Chinese tomb that dates back to 165 B.C.E., which makes it the oldest, known soy product out there.  Of these two new ingredients, I was able to find toban djan fairly easily in my local Asian grocery store. It took a little more work to track down the douchi. 

However, once I had all of the ingredients, I set out to make this dish. Not only was this recipe easy to make, the dish itself was incredible. It got me to thinking about all of the bad food that I have ever eaten from local Chinese restaurants and why I don't just invest the time into making, not just great Chinese food, but great regional dishes. Sichuan cuisine always intrigued be because of its extensive use of chiles and garlic in the recipes. This Chengdu Chicken recipe (Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan province) confirmed everything that I love about the regional cuisine. For that reason, I made the dish a second time and enjoyed a little bit of this dish every day for lunch over the course of a couple of weeks. 

In the end, this is the best recipe that I have made in quite a while (and, in my humble opinion, that is saying something because I think that I have made some very delicious dishes in recent weeks and months). I will make sure that I have all the ingredients on hand so that I can make this dish in the future.

CHENGDU CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS, CHILES AND PEANUTS

Recipe from Andrew Zimmern

Serves 4

Ingredients:

20 to 24 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breast 

     and dark meat, diced

3 tablespoons rice wine or sake

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 tablespoons toban dijan (fermented chile bean paste)

1/3 cup shelled peanuts, toasted

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns, crushed

12 dried whole Chinese chiles (tsin-tsin or Mexican arbols work well)

1 tablespoon ginger, sliced

1 tablespoon garlic, sliced

4 tablespoons peanut oil

4 tablespoons whole fermented Chinese black beans (douchi)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons black vinegar

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 cup scallions, chopped

Cooked rice, for serving

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken.  Combine the chicken, rice wine, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the toban djan and mix well in a large Ziploc bag or bowl.  Cover or seal and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 4 to 24 hours.  Drain chicken and discard any remaining marinade.

2.  Prepare the wok.  Preheat a wok over high heat for several minutes.  Combine the peanuts, white pepper, white sugar, Szechuan peppercorns, dried chiles, ginger and garlic in a bowl.  When the wok is very hot, add the peanut oil and swirl.  It should smoke and ripple immediately.  Add the bowl of mixed seasonings.  Swirl in the wok - they will scorch quickly. 

3.  Cook the chicken.  Next, add the chicken and 2/3 of the scallions.  Wok toss until cooked through, about 3 minutes.  Use wok tools so you don't break the chiles and can scrape across the sides and bottom of the wok safely.  Add the fermented black beans, brown sugar, black vinegar, soy sauce, and remaining toban dijan.  Toss and cook for another 2 minutes.  The sauce should reduce and tighten to a glaze. 

4.  Finish the dish.  Toss in the remaining scallions and immediately spill contents out on a platter.  Serve with white rice. 

ENJOY!