Can I give a recipe 10 stars? How about a full constellation and a comet dashing through it? This recipe was sitting on my files for a while, but every weekend something would happen and prevent me from trying it. That all changed on a cold Sunday morning last month. You need to find a few special ingredients, but trust me, it will be more than worthy. A constellation and a comet worthy.
BON BON CHICKEN
(slightly modified from Serious Eats)
3 skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup Shaoxing wine
2 green onions, chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
2 + 1/2 teaspoons whole Sichuan peppercorns
1 pound cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinkiang black vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Place the chicken in a large pot. Add the wine green onions, 3/4 of the ginger, 1 teaspoon of the Sichuan peppercorns, and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to a simmer, cook for 3 1/2 minutes. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let sit for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool for a few minutes, then shred the chicken with your fingers or a couple of forks.
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, Sriracha, the rest of the Sichuan peppercorn, rest of the ginger, sugar, and cilantro in a blender. Process until smooth.
Scatter the cucumber slices on a plate. Top with the shredded chicken, and pour on the sauce. Garnish with more cilantro, if you want.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
This recipe delivered all it promised and a little more! I poached three chicken breasts, hoping to have some leftover for a couple of lunches, because I did not think Phil would care for it. He usually prefers to have a yogurt smoothie for lunch, with a Wasa cracker and peanut butter, something along those lines. But then, he tasted a piece of chicken, and his plans for lunch changed on the spot. No leftovers, we polished this big bowl of deliciously poached chicken with a dressing that was like an explosion of contrasting flavors: the sesame oil was there, so was the ginger. But the black vinegar, the Szechuan peppercorns, those took this dish to unprecedented levels of goodness. Poached chicken never ever tasted so great! Please, make this recipe. Make double amount, because you will be going back for more. Very refreshing, very light, but at the same time it will leave you satisfied, probably because the taste is so intense. I cannot wait to make this again, and again, and again…
ONE YEAR AGO: Seafood Extravaganza Pasta
TWO YEARS AGO: A Pearfect Drink
THREE YEARS AGO: Ming Tsai Under Pressure
FOUR YEARS AGO: Paris, Je t’aime
Bewitching Kitchen 
Sounds very tasty. Still no place to get Shaoxing wine in town so I usually substitute mirin in recipes. 🙂 I don’t think I’d bother shredding the chicken though as I have no breasts so I’d like to use the last 6 drumsticks in my freezer if I make it next week.
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The sauce will definitely go well on many types of chicken, cook them until very tender and go for it 😉
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I simply do not believe you are already blogging and do hope you had a smooth flight home 🙂 ! I am going to try this recipe just as you have written it – there is no problem with ingredients because I use all almost every day [well, perhaps the vinegar less often] but the methodology is interesting. You cook the chicken almost as for Hainanese chicken rice but I have never used the Szechuan peppercorns, black vinegar and sriracha together like this. Also interesting texture with the raw cucumber and poached chicken too . . . shall report back!! A trial with that interesting sauce first!!!
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Well that’s tonight’s dinner sorted. Bizarrely the only ingredient I don’t have is the cucumber but that will be easy to get. Thank you.
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Awesome! Hope you like it!
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Oh, I am no Super Woman! I had the two previous posts ready to go and set to publish long before I left – I tend to have at least 2 blog posts written each weekend, but if I know I will be busy I write more and store them 🙂
we are back, 21 hours in transit yesterday, arrived home at 10pm – now ready to go to work!
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Hoping for not too much jet lag 🙂 !
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A scrumptious dish! Very original too.
Cheers,
Rosa
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yes, quite unique, I had never thought of making a sauce/dressing like it
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I am super into Asian flavors at the moment…and if you say this is showstoppingly good, then I must try it! At least, the sauce!
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Grilled tofu? That would go pretty well with this sauce, I think. Might scare The Boy, but perhaps he is by now de-sensitized to tofu 😉
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I actually have black vinegar from a recent cooking class I took. Now I just need to get the wine and peppercorns – this looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad you intend to try it! You won’t be disappointed…
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Love black vinegar and always have a bottle in the pantry. I won’t use breasts though, the only time I have them is when I’m doing a whole/half chicken. Thighs should be wonderful with this recipe. Thanks Sally!
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You are more than welcome! Black vinegar has quite a unique flavor, now I gotta find other recipes to use it
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Sally, this looks amazing….although I’ll be Googling some of the ingredients after I hit Post Comment! I’m totally willing to get those ingredients to make this dish if I can find them around here!
I know exactly what you mean about postponing a recipe weekend after weekend. I have a pile of recipes that I’ve printed with the best intentions, but my plans never panned out. That’s not to say that I’m giving up on them… I will try them sooner or later.. 🙂 We need more hours in our days…and more days in our weeks!
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you are absolutely right! We need A LOT more hours in our days! 😉
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I absolutely love this recipe, this is going to the top of the list. The perfect salad.
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Quite refreshing, we enjoyed every single bit of it…
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I tend to get bored easily with chicken, but this looks like it would take chicken to a whole new level. I know Mike, Mr. N and I would enjoy it. Miss A….she’s tougher to please these days.
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I find poached chicken ok, but not great. With this recipe, I changed my mind, but of course, the dressing is so amazing, it would make anything shine
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Sounds like this dish has such vibrant flavors, will HAVE to try it. Need to get some shoaxing first.
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Vibrant! That is the perfect adjective… thank you! 😉
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This looks so delicious!!! I can’t wait to see a post or two on Paris!!!
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I am trying to write one post this weekend, but it is one busy weekend for us, not sure I’ll be able to. But, a promise made is a promise made, I’ll get to it 😉
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10 stars it is! Whenever Sichuan peppercorn is involved, it’s bound to be a goody ;-). It’s so true that seeking out authentic ingredients can make all the difference in a dish like this. And once you have them on hand, you can keep reusing in some cases for months, so it’s well worth the effort in acquiring. I think our whole family would love this dish Sally. I’m jotting down the ingredients right now!
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Agree with you, these special ingredients are worth they trouble to find them… I am thrilled that we have an amazing oriental food store in town, and so far everything I needed I could find there. And it’s cheap too… heaven, my dear, heaven
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Chicken dinners are always my go-to after a long day at the lab! I can’t wait to try this. That sauce just sounds so delicious
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You and me both – although pork tenderloin on the grill comes a close second, I butterfly it and the grilling is done in 10 minutes. Love it!
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WOw, simply delicious!!!
my asian licking lovin any kind of spicy and hot dish…..
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Hope you try this gem of a recipe, I am craving it again….
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I generally don’t comment when I’ve altered a recipe. That said, I made this for dinner last night, making the sauce as written, but broiling whole chicken legs. I served them hot on top of the cucumber, which I wilted a bit with salt. Sides of Chinese noodles with garlic and oil and spinach sauteed with sesame seeds and oil, all topped with the sauce mix. It was great, pleasing the anti boiled chicken faction! thanks for reminding me of Sichuan peppercorns, they tend to hide in the back cupboard.
By the way did you toast them first, or grind them? I did both.
Happy Guinness day!
mac
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Thanks for the feedback! I am sure broiling the chicken legs was a step up for this recipe…
as to the peppercorns, I just crushed them slightly
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I’m not a big fan of poached chicken either, Sally, but this sounds so flavorful. I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding ingredients, though I may have to look a little harder for the black vinegar. WIth all of the Aisan markets in this area, it’s just a question of walking into the right one.
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I found two kinds of black vinegar and the store owner recommended me the one I ended up bringing home. It has some sweetness to it, and a smell that is not too pungent. Thicker than regular vinegar…
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Just reading the recipe, I want to yell, Bon! Bon!
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🙂 😉 😉
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This sauce is awesome!! We have made it 3 times since you posted. We Are going to try it with fish tonight!! Bon Bon in French is good, good. And that totally describes it.
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Isn’t that sauce addictive? Too good! Glad you enjoyed it too, I had some people commenting on my Facebook page endorsing the recipe there. It is a winner!
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