Warning: This dish is very spicy! As in burning lips and runny nose spicy! Eat at your own risk :)
I am a huge lover of PF Chang's. The chicken lettuce wraps. The coconut ice cream and fried banana dessert. The kung pao chicken. However, my favorite dish is the Dali Chicken. It's a very spicy chicken dish (the waitress called it the spiciest thing on the menu) with chili pods and sliced potatoes.
Seth and I went to PF Chang's in the Harbor around mid-July, and I was very distressed to find that the Dali Chicken is no longer on the menu. While there were still a lot of yummy things to choose from, I had a craving for Dali Chicken that I hadn't fulfilled! So, I searched the internet for a recipe that I thought could match it as closely as possible. And I found it!
Ingredients:
(This is the exact measurements for the meal I made for Seth and me, but there was about one serving left over)
-3 boneless skinless chicken breats, cubed into bite-sized pieces
-3 or 4 medium sized potatoes, sliced thin
-bunch of scallions, chopped
-3 tsp cumin powder
-3 chili pods, halved
(The potatoes and chilis were actually harvested from our garden. No better feeling than using food grown in your own backyard!)
Stir Fry Sauce:
-6 tbsp chicken stock
-3 tbsp rice wine
-3 tbsp soy sauce
-6 tbsp chili sauce (We use the Kikkoman brand)
-3 tsp corn starch
Heat either wok oil or veggie oil in a wok or wok-like frying pan. When oil is so hot that it's almost smoking, add the chicken. The trick with chinese food is to keep the food constantly moving in the pan so as not to overcook it. Cook chicken for 3-4 minutes before adding the sliced potato. Move around for another 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the cumin over the mixture and add the halved chili pods.
When the cumin smell as become really pungent, spread the bits around until there's a bare circle in the middle of the pan. Pour the stir fry sauce directly into this space. Leave the pan sit for a 2-3 minutes before moving the bits around again. Cook until sauce thickens and add scallions when the sauce is just about to thicken.
Serve over white or brown rice.
This meal was fantastic! Seth actually said it was the best experimental meal since we've been married. So, if you like PF Chang's and spice, I would definitely give it a try :)
