Cantonese chicken (Szechuan chicken)

Carmen, from the food blog Yerbabuena en la cocina, brings us a recipe with oriental inspiration that will fill the house with exotic aromas and surprise our diners. It's a very easy recipe to prepare — do you dare to try it?

Asian cuisine is very rich and varied and, although it is widespread around the world, it still manages to surprise due to the number of nuances and contrasts depending on the area you visit.

Anise, fennel, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper and ginger are the five Chinese spices, which you can find in Asian stores already mixed in the right proportions; they are the base of this dish and will flood your kitchen with these intense aromas even before you start cooking.

If you like to travel, even if only through the senses and emotions, you can't miss this Cantonese or Szechuan chicken — if you don't know it you'll be surprised, and if you've already tried it you'll surely keep making it. Crispy, sweet, salty, spicy, intense, colorful... In short, an endless array of sensations in a single bite!

If you add to all that the simplicity of its preparation… can you ask for anything more? Only a good cast-iron pan that reaches and maintains a constant, even temperature, like my Skillet Le Creuset. It's so pretty you can even serve it directly at the table.

Grab some chopsticks, close your eyes and get ready to travel!

Ingredients:

1 Kg. Boneless chicken hindquarters

2 Tablespoons Chinese five-spice

120 g. Flour for battering

Olive oil for frying

1 Red bell pepper

1 Spring onion or a bunch of Chinese scallions

1 Fresh chili pepper

75 g. Sugar

125 ml. Soy sauce

25 ml. Rice vinegar

Cilantro

Toasted sesame

A handful of peanuts previously toasted in the pan

Preparation:

Cut the vegetables into large julienne strips. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pan and sauté the pepper and spring onion over high heat for two minutes. Remove and set aside.

Mix the flour with the Chinese five-spice, cut the chicken into even cubes and coat them. Meanwhile, heat oil in the Skillet pan. When it starts to smoke add the chicken and let it cook until golden. Remove and set aside.

Clean the pan and make a golden caramel with the sugar. Then add the chicken and toss it briefly in the caramel. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar and let reduce for two or three minutes.

Add the vegetables, the previously toasted peanuts and the chili sliced. Let cook for a few minutes, remove and sprinkle with toasted sesame and cilantro.

Serve directly in the Skillet.