Spending Too Much Time at Home Led to a Significant Improvement in My Cooking Skills, and I Even Learned How to Make 'Yu Er Ji' (Chicken with Yam)
During the days at home, seeing the videos of 'yu er ji' (chicken with yam) posted on friends' feeds, and hearing the 'sh' sound when the hot oil is poured over, you can almost feel the aroma of chili and flower through the screen.
In the hard dishes of Sichuan cuisine, if it doesn't end with a drizzle of hot oil, this dish is destined to be without soul.
As a Chongqing native, how can I bear a day without the taste of spicy and numbing? So I quickly made a batch of 'yu er ji'.
The method is actually very simple, even kitchen novices can easily master it.
Main ingredients: half a chicken (about 500g), 500g yam.
Excuse me, this is also simple?
Okay, I admit, the ingredients do seem a bit excessive, but everyone should adjust according to their own circumstances. If you have enough ingredients, that's the best.
Step 1:
Cut the chicken into small pieces and wash them clean, draining off the blood water.
Step 2:
Peel and cut the yam into small pieces and set aside.
Step 3:
Heat the cooking oil in a pot until it's smoking, then add ginger slices and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the chicken pieces and stir-fry.
At this time, you should use high heat to stir-fry, until the chicken pieces are partially cooked and colored, then pour in old soy sauce and stir-fry evenly.
Add doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste), eight-corner star anise (ba jiao), Shan Cai (Sichuan peppercorns), cinnamon, star anise, and add 30ml of (liao jiu – cooking wine), and braise for 2 minutes over medium heat.
Step 4:
Pour in the fire pot base and the Chongqing chicken seasoning, and add about 1000ml of water.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for 5 minutes, maintaining a slight boil.
Step 5:
When the chicken is cooked, add the washed and cut yam pieces and braise for about 15 minutes until the yam is tender and soft.
Step 6:
Add white sugar and chicken broth to adjust the seasoning, and after the sauce is well-flavored, pour it into a large bowl.
Because we eat it directly from the pot at home, so we ignore this step.
Step 7:
The most crucial step! Pour the hot oil over high heat into the hot oil, then add chili threads and dried flower (huā jiāo – Sichuan peppercorns), and after the 'sh' sound, sprinkle with scallion greens. This 'yu er ji' is complete!
The method of making 'yu er ji' has many variations, but the key to Chongqing 'yu er ji' is the spicy and numbing taste, which is great for eating rice and drinking alcohol.
This method of making 'yu er ji' is also suitable for other dishes, such as water boiled fish – you just need to replace the Chongqing chicken seasoning with water boiled fish seasoning.
Anyway, I'm bored at home, so let's improve my cooking skills, try it out!
