Fist of Kitchen presents… Eat it: China!

chicken

• 1 lb. chicken
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce

sauce

• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ c. soup stock

vegetables

• 2 c. onions
• 4 green peppers
• 2 sweet red peppers
• 1 hot pepper
• 1 cucumber
• 2 tbsp. oil

preparation

Mix the soy sauce and the starch, then toss with the cubed chicken (we used thighs). Deep-fry the chicken and set it aside. Toss the diced vegetables with the sauce, and fry in the oil until tender. Mix with chicken.

We used two yellow peppers instead of four green, and we forgot to get a cucumber—but even with five peppers you couldn’t call this a hot mess.

This was soooooooo totally dull we couldn’t believe it. All those peppers, and huge amount of onions, and it still tasted…dead. The meat-to-vegetable ratio is way off. The chicken was overwhelmed even thought we had more chicken and fewer vegetables than called for. We made it palatable, but not that awesome, by adding a tablespoon of oyster sauce and a tablespoon of hoisin. If you like hot pickled birdseye peppers, they help, too—and even if you don’t, try their vinegar brine.

Better yet, don’t make this! When I plug in the Chinese name for this recipe in Google image search, what turns up looks a lot more like what Ken made with Sichuan peppers and little red chilies—which was awesome. Go make that instead!

Note from Matt:

The Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

Chinese cuisine is a 5,000 year-old tradition. The bell pepper was introduced to China 500 years ago, a consequence of the Columbian Exchange, probably via Spanish traders to the Philippines. China may be today’s largest bell pepper producer, but I will take that relative in-authenticity as a license to always omit the flavor of hate: the bell pepper. Get roasted and go back to salsa, pepper! This recipe is like licking a black hole.