Szechuan Crusted Fried Chicken

                                                 

This a long overdue post, sorry for the delay. Remember the Szechuan peppercorns I had, well I saw this recipe by Kylie Kwong where she uses it to make a crispy duck.  Using that as an idea I tried it with chicken with some additional ingredients.

 It gave it a nice lemony taste. Steaming the chicken before frying ensured that the chicken was cooked through.

Recipe : Szechuan-crusted fried chicken: Inspired by Kylie Kwong's Crispy duck

6 pieces of chicken( I used thighs and drumstick pieces)
1 tbsp  Szechuan peppercorns
2 cloves of garlic(finely grated)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
pinch pepper
2 tsp light soy sauce
 1 tsp salt
Flour, about 1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying

I like to leave the skin on the chicken because it makes it extra crispy and delicious. Pat dry and place in a bowl.

Prepare szechuan salt by heating the peppercorns with a teaspoon of salt on a dry frying pan and gently dry fry them till they release their aroma. Remove and pound or grind to a fine powder.

Reserve about a big pinch of that Szechuan peppercorn salt and add the rest into the bowl with the chicken along with garlic, chilli powder, a tiny pinch of regular black pepper,  and light soy sauce. Mix well and leave to marinate for about 1-2 hours.

Prepare your steamer by filling it with water and bringing to a boil. Lay your chicken on the tray and steam for about 30 minutes till the chicken is tender. Remove and let it air dry for another 30 minutes.

Season your flour with the reserved szechuan peppercorn salt and toss your chicken pieces in it, shaking off any excess flour. Deep fry till nice and golden and crispy.