«Our palate is gradually preparing to touch the most fiery peaks, but we do it harmoniously, as in the Chinese tradition, so the spiciest dishes have yet to arrive. After so many preambles, the best way to immerse ourselves in this tradition and grasp its essence is to let the recipe speak, get lost among the many ingredients and let us be fascinated by the meticulous care that characterizes every single step of the preparation of this chicken by the name which, for a Italian, it leaves open a second possible interpretation in the translation: if in fact in China it is leveraged on the water that its goodness is able to produce, its spiciness reminds us that we will need to drink a lot! Koushuiin fact, it really means saliva, watering. Here's how it is prepared and what it takes to make it. " To introduce this recipe we used the words of Professor Francesco Boggio Ferraris, director of the Permanent Training School of the Italy China Foundation, who collaborated with the Bon Wei restaurant in Milan and chef Guoqing Zhang to bring, and explain, regional Chinese cuisine to the Italians.

Ingredients for 4 people

1 whole chicken, ginger and spring onions

For the sauce
2 cloves of garlic
Star anise, salt and pepper
1 bunch of fresh Sichuan peppers
1 tablespoon of Chinese wine (alternatively, white wine)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (alternatively wine or apple vinegar)
2 tablespoons of spicy Sichuan pepper oil
1 handful of toasted sesame
1 handful of peanut grains

To complete
Chopped fresh parsley
Sesame oil

Method

Blanch the chicken in water with chopped ginger and spring onions. Keep the broth. When cooked, allow it to cool and bone it.

To prepare the sauce, in a saucepan cook a ladle of chicken broth for about ten minutes in which add the chopped chillies, spring onion, ginger, garlic, sesame and peanuts, in addition to Chinese wine, rice vinegar and star anise, adjusting salt and pepper. With the heat off, add the spicy oil to the still boiling sauce and mix.

Cover the chicken with the sauce, and garnish it with fresh parsley, chopped spring onion and sesame oil.

Photo by Matteo Barro.

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