Burn Your Eyes Chicken – Chicken with Charred Red Peppers and Cashews (Gong Bao Ji Ding)
My father cooked all manner of food when I was growing up. His baba ganouj was garlicky and smooth, a perfect dip brought to many a party. We ate his brisket, fall apart tender, every Passover. He never purchased store-bought salad dressing; a jar of his homemade vinaigrette always resided on the refrigerator door. Refried beans were simmered in big pots and frozen, then crisped up for dinner twice a week.
He seemed to prepare Chinese dishes more than food of any other culture. Scallion pancakes were always a crunchy treat. Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (known in my home as ginger broccoli) accompanied many a meal. We called his Tea Smoked Chicken, which we all now love, cigarette butt chicken. Chilled Scallion-Oil Shrimp were lightly cooked; tender and delicious. And I took my initial steps into the culinary world by preparing Rock Sugar Chicken and Vinegar Slithered Green Cabbage with him, classics that I still prepare from time to time.
But there was one dish that stood out among the rest, not due to its taste (although it was quite good) but because everyone in the house, and probably the neighborhood, knew when it was being prepared. Chicken with Charred Red Peppers and Cashews was about as spicy as it got. The first step in preparation of the simple stir fry was searing Chinese dried red chili peppers in a bit of oil until they were black. These chilies are spicy enough on the tongue, but the smoke released when burned, revealed their heat in new ways. As it blackened, you felt it in your throat. The whole family, no matter where in the house you hid, would cough and cough, the spicy smoke burning our air passages as we inhaled. It is amazing we don’t all have lung cancer. Early in his days of preparing Chicken with Charred Red Peppers and Cashews it earned the nickname Burn Your Eyes Chicken, despite the fact that it never stung the eyes.
I once prepared Burn Your Eyes Chicken at my rented home in college. I asked my friend Juliette, who was hanging out at our house that day, if she ate spicy food and wanted to join us for dinner. Spicy dishes were not her thing, she told me. When I cooked it and we all coughed like crazy, she asked incredulously, “You wanted me to eat that!?” Despite the discomfort, it was delicious.
I haven’t made Burn Your Eyes Chicken in years. But something sparked me to cook it a few days ago. It tasted great, as always; tender, bite-size pieces of chicken, crunchy peanuts (instead of cashews), half-cooked onions, slightly bitter notes from small pieces of dried tangerine peel, and plenty of heat from the charred chili peppers. Even though I have a strong fan in my vent hood to remove as much smoke as possible, I still coughed and coughed while cooking, recalling instantly how it got its family name.
Chicken with Charred Red Peppers and Cashews (Gong Bao Ji Ding)
This recipe is really one variation on the classic Chinese dish Kung Pao Chicken. My father got it from The Good Food of Szechwan by Robert A. Delfs, which calls for cashews. However, I always recall peanuts in their place, which seems to be the norm in most restaurants and recipes. My father made other modifications over the years. Thick wedges of onions, only partially cooked and still crunchy are a great addition, and the tangerine peel adds a nice but subtle flavor. (My father always seems to have a bowl of tangerine peel drying on the kitchen counter just for this dish.) If at all possible, stir fry with the fan in your vent hood on its highest power and windows open to minimize discomfort.
serves 4, about a half hour
2 Tbsp. dried tangerine peel, broken into ¼-inch pieces
4 tsp. cornstarch, divided
3 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided
2 Tbsp. Shoaxing cooking wine (rice wine) or dry sherry, divided
1 egg white
½ tsp. salt, divided (omit if using salted nuts)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
10 dried red chili peppers, or more to taste
2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 scallion, or more to taste
1 medium onion, cut in wedges
1 tsp. vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil (optional)
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
¼ cup cashews, peanuts, or almonds
- Soak the dried tangerine peel in warm water for about an hour prior to draining and cooking.
- Make the marinade in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken by mixing together 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon Shoaxing cooking wine or dry sherry. Beat the egg white in a separate bowl and add ½ teaspoon salt. Combine with the rest of the marinade mixture and then mix in the chicken pieces. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Prepare the additional ingredients. Cut off the ends of the dried red chili peppers and shake out and discard the seeds. Finely chop ginger. Cut scallion into ¾-inch pieces. Peel and cut onion into 8 wedges. Set aside.
- Prepare the seasonings in a small bowl. Mix together the remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon Shoaxing cooking wine or dry sherry. Add vinegar, sugar, salt (if using), and sesame oil (if using). Set aside.
- Turn fan in hood vent to high and/or open windows. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or heavy skillet on medium heat and add chili peppers. Cook until they start to char. Turn heat to high. When peppers are black, drain tangerine peel from water and add to wok. Cook for about a minute. Add chicken and stir fry until it starts to turn white, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add ginger, scallion, and onion wedges, and stir and cook for another minute or two. Add nuts. Stir seasoning in bowl to dissolve cornstarch and add to the wok, mixing until sauce is thick and glaze-like. Serve hot.
