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gary's strange flavored chicken

gabannon avatar
Recipe by
gary bannon
@gabannon
Brant Rock, MA

We have a neighborhood Chinese restaurant that we love and have been going to for years. One of our favorite takeout meals was a Szechuan style dish called Strange Flavored Chicken. We still think they offer the best Chinese food around, but they have taken that dish off the menu. I had never attempted Chinese food at home but started craving that particular dish. After trial and error this is what I have come up with, and I think it's pretty good. ( If you don't like very spicy Szechuan you might want to cut down on the ginger and Chilies.)

yield 4 -6
prep time 20 Min
cook time 10 Min
method Stir-Fry

Ingredients For gary's strange flavored chicken

  • 1 Tbsp
    vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp
    sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp
    chinese five spice powder
  • 2 lb
    boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 4 oz
    fresh snow peas (trimmed
  • 2 oz
    shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 sm
    red chilies
  • 2-3
    carrots thinly julienned
  • 1
    red bell pepper julienned
  • 1 md
    onion julienned
  • 1
    8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
  • 1 c
    chicken broth
  • 1/4 c
    hoisin sauce
  • 1 Tbsp
    chinese hot mustard
  • 1 Tbsp
    soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp
    corn starch
  • 2 tsp
    finely grated fresh ginger

How To Make gary's strange flavored chicken

  • 1
    Gather all your ingredients and prep. everything ahead of time. Once you start cooking it will go quick and easy that way.
  • 2
    In a large skillet or wok, heat the oils over medium-high heat
  • 3
    Liberally season chicken with the Chinese five spice.
  • 4
    In a small bowl, combine broth, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Chinese hot mustard, ginger, and cornstarch. Set aside. * Note. I often use dried shiitake mushrooms for this dish. when I do I save the water I use to reconstitute them and then add a chicken bouillon cube to it and this is what I use for the broth.
  • 5
    Add the chicken to the hot skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
  • 6
    Add the snow peas, mushrooms, chilies, carrots ,bell pepper, and onion and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water chestnuts.
  • 7
    Add the sauce mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium to medium-low, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
  • 8
    * Note: This dish goes great over hot cooked rice or rice noodles.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!

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