Spicy mala chicken hotpot

Mala sauce is available from Asian supermarkets. It's a fiery condiment usually made from Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, ginger, shallot, fermented chilli paste, chilli oil and spices.

Spicy mala chicken hotpot Credit: Alana Dimou

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Either during the meal or after finishing the chicken, you can add some stock to the wok and continue to cook the hotpot ingredients using the mala chicken soup base. This transforms one dish into two dining experiences.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg whole chicken, well washed (or chicken wings)
• 2 tbsp canola oil (or other cooking oil)
• 6 garlic cloves, halved lengthways
• 10 red shallots, halved lengthways
• 2 tbsp thickly sliced spring onion, white part only
• 4 cm piece ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Sichaun peppercorns
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) mala sauce (see Note)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch Chinese celery, sliced into 4 cm (1½ in) batons
• 10 dried bird's eye chillies
• 2 bird's eye chillies (optional)
• 3 tbsp chicken stock (optional)

Marinade

• 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp cornflour 

To serve

• 1 bunch spring onions, sliced into batons
• 1 bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Marinating time: 4 hours (or up to 24 hours)

Instructions

1. To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a glass or ceramic dish. Chop the chicken into 7.5 cm pieces, add to the marinade and turn to coat well. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or non-stick saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, shallot, the spring onion and ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until fragrant and slightly softened. Add the Sichaun peppercorns and fennel seeds and cook for another 30 seconds.
3. Increase the heat to high and add the chicken. Cook, untouched, until the chicken has browned nicely (about 1 minute), then turn the chicken over and give everything a good stir. Pour in the shaoxing wine, mala and oyster sauces and mix well.
4. Add the red onion, Chinese celery, dried chilli and fresh chilli (if using). Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 15–20 minutes or until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through. Check occasionally during this time and add the chicken stock if it starts to look a bit dry.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. To serve, scatter over the spring onion batons and coriander.

Note

• Mala sauce is available from Asian supermarkets. It's a fiery condiment usually made from Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, ginger, shallot, fermented chilli paste, chilli oil and spices. Ma refers to the numbing sensation from eating Sichuan peppercorns and la means 'spicy'. If you don't have mala sauce, you could use 2 tablespoons spicy bean paste, 1 tablespoon ground fermented bean paste, 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 teaspoons toasted Sichuan peppercorns instead.

Hong Kong Local by ArChan Chan, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $39.99). Photography by Alana Dimou.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Either during the meal or after finishing the chicken, you can add some stock to the wok and continue to cook the hotpot ingredients using the mala chicken soup base. This transforms one dish into two dining experiences.