China News Agency, Urumqi, March 9th, title: Xinjiang pepper chicken: "spicy and windy" night market "finale dish"
Tao Shuanke
As the weather gets warmer, more and more people come to Xinjiang to travel.
At Erdaoqiao Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, Ms. Zhen, a tourist from Shanxi, told the reporter that Urumqi was the first stop of this trip, "I have tasted Xinjiang food in the past few days, and I feel really good. The barbecue is very authentic. The meat in the large plate series is very rich. The taste of the chicken is pure."
Pepper chicken is a famous dish in Xinjiang, which combines the flavors of numb and spicy.
Pepper chicken is very popular in all parts of Xinjiang, especially in summer night markets, where it is almost the finale of every table in the night market.
Published by China News Agency · Photo by Hu Re
Different from the hot and spicy Dapan Chicken, Xinjiang Pepper Chicken is a cold dish. The word "num" is emphasized in the spicy, and the entrance is like "electric shock".
Put it in a pot under cold water, stew it with more than ten seasonings, and cook until it can be easily poked through with chopsticks, then quickly remove the chicken and soak it in ice water for 10 minutes.
After draining the water, tear the chicken and put it on a plate, sprinkle with green and red peppers, tender white onion, pour over the secret pepper and sesame juice, stir evenly, after three to five minutes of soaking, the spicy and delicious taste will slowly overflow...
It is said that the birth of pepper chicken originated from the "taste of home".
After Sha Junming, a native of Hutubi County, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, fell ill once when he was a child, his mother made him a plate of shredded chicken.
In 1990, Sha Junming's "Old Shajiao Chicken" restaurant opened in Hutubi County. Since then, pepper chicken has become popular all over Xinjiang.
In 2006, Sha Junming passed on the pepper chicken shop and craftsmanship to his son Sha Fei and daughter-in-law Li Xia.
"Cook one pot a day. After the water boils, add pepper, ginger, and salt to remove the fishy smell and increase the aroma. It takes 5 hours to cook 80 chickens in one pot at home, and it's just out of the pot at lunch time." Everyday In the early morning, Shafei and Li Xia started to work in the shop.
Pepper chicken is a famous dish in Xinjiang, which combines the flavors of numb and spicy.
Pepper chicken is very popular in all parts of Xinjiang, especially in summer night markets, where it is almost the finale of every table in the night market.
Published by China News Agency · Photo by Hu Re
While cooking the chicken, Li Xia will also cook the peppery chicken juice in another pot. There are ginger, peppercorns, dried chilies, thread peppers, salty salt, etc. in the pot. The peppery chicken’s peppery taste comes from this.
Li Xia said that a good pepper chicken requires special attention to three steps: one is cooking the chicken, which needs to be slaughtered and cleaned, and boiled in cold water. Chewy and chewy; the second is to cook the soup, you need to choose pure seasonings to get the aroma of the spicy soup; the third is to pour the soup, pour the soup on the shredded chicken continuously, and stir evenly while pouring the soup .
"Pepper chicken must be torn by hand, tearing along the texture of the chicken, the soup will soak into the meat along the lines, the taste will have a layered sense, delicious umami, spicy and strong, this kind of pepper chicken is fragrant enough .” Li Xia reminded specifically.
As the pepper chicken is becoming more and more popular across the country, some businesses have innovatively added side dishes such as thousand-sheet tofu, fungus, and bamboo shoots, and some stores are mainly engaged in online transactions.
Mr. Lin, who opened a chili chicken shop in Urumqi, told reporters: "Our chili chicken is mainly ordered online, vacuum-packed, and shipped by air. Usually, we place an order in the morning and eat it in the evening. Most of our customers are in Xinjiang. For Xinjiang people who work and study abroad, pepper chicken has become a taste in the memory of Xinjiang people."
This year, Li Xia's pepper chicken factory has also begun to start.
"Establish a raw material company for Xinjiang pepper chicken, and make pepper chicken more professional and refined, so that more diners can taste the taste from Xinjiang." Li Xia said.
Right now, in Hotan, Xinjiang, where the night market does not stop all year round, a plate of chilli chicken is the finale of almost every table in the night market.
Diners from far and near drink and eat meat, talking and laughing happily, tasting the taste of Xinjiang.
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