Chicken Szechuan-Style with Sesame Paste
Submitted by Effie
Szechuan chicken in sesame paste with toasted peppercorns, green tea, ginger, and red pepper flakes, served cold in lettuce wraps. A spicy, make-ahead Chinese appetizer.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
60 minCold shredded chicken tossed in a thick, spicy sesame sauce and wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves. This Szechuan appetizer is served at room temperature or chilled, making it a smart choice for entertaining since you can make it a full day ahead.
The sauce is layered with heat and flavor. Sesame paste thinned with brewed green tea creates the creamy base, then vinegar, soy sauce, peanut oil, crushed red pepper, fresh ginger, scallion, garlic, sherry, and cayenne pile on. Toasted Szechuan peppercorns add their signature numbing tingle that separates this from ordinary spicy chicken.
Poach the breasts gently until just opaque, then cool and shred into thin julienne strips. Every strand picks up the sauce differently, so you get varying intensity in each bite. Roll the dressed chicken inside lettuce leaves and eat with your fingers.
Chef Tips
- Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry pan. Low to moderate heat until fragrant, about a minute. They burn fast, so keep them moving.
- Green tea is the authentic thinner. Brew it strong. If you substitute peanut butter for sesame paste, use sesame oil instead of green tea to keep the sesame flavor present.
- Shred the chicken thin. Julienne strips absorb more sauce and feel more elegant than chunky pieces.
- Serve at cool room temperature. Pull it from the fridge 20 minutes before serving so the sauce loosens up and the flavors bloom.
Variations
- Peanut butter shortcut: Replace sesame paste and green tea with peanut butter and sesame oil for a nuttier, more accessible version.
- Cucumber addition: Toss julienned cucumber with the chicken for a cool, crunchy contrast.
- Noodle version: Toss the sauce with cold cooked noodles instead of chicken for a vegetarian Szechuan sesame noodle dish.
Ingredients
Directions
In a pot, poach the chicken breasts in boiling water for 10 minutes until white and opaque.
In a dry frying pan, toast the Szechuan peppercorns over moderate heat, then crust or grind them; set aside.
Remove the chicken breasts from the pot; drain and cool them.
Slice them, then shred the slices into julienne pieces.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sesame paste and green tea (or the peanut butter and sesame oil -- See NOTE).
Add the vinegar and soy sauce; blend well.
Add the peanut oil, red pepper, ginger, scallion, garlic, sherry, cayenne pepper, and the peppercorns.
Mix all ingredients very well.
Toss the chicken strips in this sauce, to coat.
Refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving.
Pass the chicken and the lettuce leaves separately, and let each guest place a small portion of the chicken in the middle of a lettuce leaf and roll it up like an egg roll to eat using fingers.
Makes 6 appetizer servings.
NOTE: The authentic recipe calls for green tea to thin the sesame seed paste, but you may substitute chicken broth, or simply water, if you prefer.
Another substitution you may make if you wish is peanut butter for the sesame seed paste along with sesame oil instead of green tea.
This dish is served cold or at room temperature and can be made a day ahead .
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