JuliaMa La Zi Ji — Numbing-and-Hot Chicken — is one of the most famous dishes in I Hunan province that looks down on its Sichuan neighbor’s affection for those strange peppercorns that “ruin every other flavor.”<br> <br> The chicken is silkened in the mixture of dark and light soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, and potato starch, double deep fried at 400°F, and finished with red pepper, dried chili, scallions, and, yes — those strange numbing peppercorns.<br> <br> The thickening sauce is based on a good chicken stock and a bit of rice vinegar.<br> <br> What can I say? After a dinner at an excellent — to my mind — place, I asked him what did he think about my rendition:<br> — I don’t know. You kinda spoiled me with all your Chinese cooking.<br> <br> Self-pat on the back, Julia.<br> <br> Good job, good job…<br> <br> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/food?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#food</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/cooking?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#cooking</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/chinesefood?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#chinesefood</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/chongqingchicken?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#chongqingchicken</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/hunan?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hunan</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/sichuan?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#sichuan</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/deepfry?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#deepfry</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/cookingathome?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#cookingathome</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/cookingtherapy?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#cookingtherapy</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/homemade?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#homemade</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/wok?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wok</a>