Mandarin, Soy, Ginger, and Garlic Chicken
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
2 small chicken breasts (about 1/2 lb), cut into bite-sized pieces
5 dried red chiles (cut into 1 1/2 inch length pieces, seeded, and soaked in warm water)
Zest from 3 mandarins (yield 1 tsp)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
1 stalk scallion
2 tsp canola oil
1 quart canola oil for deep frying
Orange sauce:
Juice from 3 mandarins (yield 1/4 cup juice)
3 Tbsp chicken stock
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp corn starch
Salt to taste
Frying batter:
1/2 cup water
2 oz all-purpose flour
1 oz corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 egg
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Mix the orange sauce ingredients and set aside.
Mix the frying batter and dip the chicken meat into the batter. Heat up a 5-quart pot with 1 quart canola oil. When the cooking oil reaches 350˚F (gauge with a candy thermometer), drop the chicken pieces, one at a time, into the oil, and deep fry them until they turn golden brown or crispy, about 2 minutes. Transfer them out onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
In a wok or 10” skillet, add 2 teaspoons of canola oil and quickly stir-fry the minced garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add in the dried red chilies and toss around until you smell the spicy aroma. Follow by adding in the minced mandarin zest, then the chicken. Quickly stir the chicken around before adding the mandarin sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce thickens. Dish out, garnish with the scallion threads and serve immediately.
Serves 2.
From rusticgardenbistro.com