flavor of the month
Courtly Chicken By Sean Silbert
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troll into any local Chinese takeaway and it’s a near guarantee they’ll have kung pao chicken on a long menu of deepfried, carmel-soaked pretensions to authenticity. This dish, which perhaps has as many international variations as any single regional specialty, has been raised to a near mystic level in the Chinese culinary pantheon. Indeed, it is often among the first signatures of that great cuisine to be served to Americans abroad. Some even consider kung pao the litmus test of a chef’s ability to create real Chinese food. Originally a Sichuanese recreation of a specialty from ethnically diverse and spice-loving Guizhou province, ask a Chinese chef – the type who actually grew up in China – to try a bite of the kung pao they’re serving at Panda Express, and at best you’ll get a grimace of confusion. The gloopy, saccharine glaze coating strips of deep-fried chicken breast is completely unlike the piquant, toothsome sauce that drenches the diced chicken and peanuts that are the two signature ingredients of a classic kung pao. Even more damningly, the uniquely mouth-numbing aroma of Sichuan pepper, an essential component of the Chinese incarnation, is nowhere to be found. For the better part of the twentieth century, Sichuan peppercorns (actually a citrus rather than a pepper) were banned from import to the United States out of fear they would spread a bacterial plant disease to native flora. Chefs made do without the signature tingling, numbing notes that define Sichuan cuisine on its home turf, and thus black Indian pepper, dried chili and even orange juice were employed in an attempt to recreate Sichuanese flavors in kung pao. In China, gongbao jiding, as it’s called in Mandarin, can be found everywhere from fine dining establishments to worker’s canteens. It’s name stands out on the mainland, where many formerly poetically-named dishes had their pretensions erased since the Revolution, making menus read like ingredients lists. Kung pao chicken has the rare honor of having its origin NEWSCHINA I July 2014
story reflected in its now-restored appellation, adding further spice to its heady aroma. All accounts of the antecedents of kung pao chicken involve the former governor of Sichuan, Ding Baozhen (1820-1886). Yet exactly what he has to do with the dish isn’t clear. Some say his private chef brought it over from the governor’s home province of Guizhou. Other stories claim the dish was invented as a result of the governor’s bad teeth – typically, chicken in China is served on-the-bone, but in kung pao it is only present in the form of succulent chunks of gristleless meat. My personal favorite yarn explains how a young, relatively poor Ding was saved from drowning by a stranger. According to the story, Ding later rose high enough in the Qing government to earn the title of a palace protector, a gong bao. He returned to his rescuer’s house to show gratitude and was served a sumptuous meal: marinated chicken cubes fried golden brown alongside crimson chilies, crunchy peanuts, and tongue-tickling Sichuan peppercorns. The crunch of the nuts blended effortlessly with the savory-spicy glaze. Unsurprisingly, he instantly became this treat’s biggest evangelist. He was such a devoted fan it became part of his legacy: hence the name, gong bao (kung pao) Chicken. Unfortunately, as with so many Chinese dishes, there’s just not enough information to really know for sure how or why they came to be. What can be verified is that Ding was one hell of a governor. He transformed Sichuan by overseeing a dredging and damming project to control disastrous flooding and irrigate the countryside. He fought corruption and smuggling. Ding also reformed the monopolized salt industry, a big moneymaker at the time. There’s a statue of him in the town of Dujiangyan commemorating his influence. The eponymous chicken dish, however, is the most enduring aspect of his legacy. Yet that positive association became dangerous during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Being named for a feudalist bureaucrat
was a huge liability even for a food item during a time when anything associated with “old China” was taboo. Gongbao jiding became “flash-fried chicken cubes” or “chicken cubes with seared chilies” until political sensitivities relaxed in the 1980s. Eternally popular at home, the dish also flourished abroad to the extent that many in today’s China still see it as a food suited to foreign palates. It doesn’t help that the recipe demands either chicken breast or boned chicken thigh – cuts of meat typically sneered at by old-fashioned Chinese gourmands who enjoy the crunch of bone at the center of cuts of poultry. Nevertheless, this dish is a sure thing in most casual dining joints, and is thus found on homestyle bistro menus from Inner Mongolia to the wilds of Yunnan. Of course this means it has evolved. Travel around China and you’ll see plenty of variations on kung pao chicken. Sweeter, drier, spicier, even with unorthodox additions such as celery, cashew nuts and almonds. While most Chinese would direct you to Sichuan for the most authentic incarnation, in Beijing the hands-down kung pao kings are the Emei Jiujia restaurant chain. Each plate served up at this eternally-popular family restaurant offers sweet morsels of chicken fried up with peanuts and ample notes of garlic, chili and ginger. The restaurant also offers a deluxe version incorporating the aforementioned almonds and cashews for an even more powerful crunch and a rich, sweet finish. Gong bao prawns and noodles are also available for those who want a walk on the wild side. Wherever you choose to have your first kung pao, it’s likely to be eye-opening. After all, this is the one Chinese dish that truly can be said to have conquered the world.
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