Chinese · Hunan · main

Hunanese Chicken with Fresh Green Chillies (Xiang La Ji)

Hunanese Chicken with Fresh Green Chillies (Xiang La Ji) reads umami 9.0, salinity 6.4 and richness 5.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Hunan main, about 43 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 10.0 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.8 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.7 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.4 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.2 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 9.0 · Salinity 6.4 · Richness 5.4 · Allium 4.1 · Sweetness 3.8 · Funk & Ferment 3.7 · Nutty 2.4 · Herbaceous 2.2 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Bitterness 1.3 · Earthy 1.0 · Sourness 0.7

What's in it (14)

• chicken thighs — 700 g
• shaoxing wine — 15 g
• salt — 5 g
• peanut oil — 27 g
• mild green chillies — 1000 g
• fresh ginger — 20 g
• garlic — 15 g
• fermented black beans — 15 g
• shaoxing wine — 30 g
• soy sauce — 15 g
• soy sauce — 5 g
• chicken stock — 300 g
• caster sugar — 4 g
• spring onions — 220 g

Time & effort: about 43 min (28 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 53.7 kcal, 6.1 g protein, 2.5 g fat, 1.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (5 steps)

1. Toss the chicken with the marinade wine and salt and leave 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until it shimmers. Add the chicken skin side down in one layer and leave it 2 minutes without touching it, until the pieces release from the metal and are deep gold, then stir-fry 3 minutes more so the cut bone ends brown too. A good deal of the flavour lives in those browned bone ends.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and black beans and stir 30 seconds. Splash in the wok Shaoxing wine and let it hiss away.
4. Add both soy sauces, the sugar and the stock, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer 15 minutes, until the meat pulls back from the bone.
5. Uncover, add the green chillies, raise the heat and cook hard 5 to 6 minutes, tossing, until the liquid has reduced to a glossy few tablespoons and the chillies are soft but still holding their shape. Add the spring onions, toss once and serve. Hunanese heat is salty and dry, and it wants a lot of plain rice beside it.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Beef and Broccoli (芥兰牛肉) — Chinese
• Skillet Beef and Broccoli — Chinese-American
• Beef and Broccoli, Yaki Style — Japanese
• Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry with Bok Choy — Chinese-American
• Lion's Head Meatballs (Shizi Tou) — Chinese · Jiangnan

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.