Adapted from Serious Eats. This makes a pretty big portion (~6 servings).

Ingredients

Substance

  • 2-3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (I use 1 pack of each), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 1-2 lb broccoli florets
  • steamed white rice

Marinade

  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/4 cup Chinese dark soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1/4 cup vodka
  • 6 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Dry Coating

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

Sauce

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • 6 Tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 6 Tbsp Chinese rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp MSG (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
  • 6 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 inch minced/grated fresh ginger
  • 2-8 thai birds-eye chiles, finely chopped
  • dried Chinese-style red chiles (optional, to taste)
  • 1 bunch scallions, whites and middles chopped (chop tops and reserve for garnish)
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

To Fry

  • ~1 gal peanut, vegetable, or canola oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Preheat fry oil to 350°F (or be ready to do so in a few minutes).

Marinade: Beat egg whites until lightly foamy. Add soy sauce, wine, and vodka and whisk to combine. Set aside half of this marinade in a separate container. To the main bowl of marinade, add cornstarch and baking soda and whisk to combine. Add chicken and toss to coat thoroughly. Cover and set aside. It only needs to marinade for a short time while you prep the other ingredients.

Dry coat: Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and whisk until uniform. Add the reserved marinade and whisk until the mixture forms coarse clumps. Set aside.

Prep sauce Combine sugar, stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and MSG in a small bowl and stir until cornstarch is fully dissolved.

Cook broccoli: Place broccoli on a sheet pan, lightly salt and a pepper to taste. Roast in the oven until tender and slightly charred, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Fry chicken: Heat oil in a fryer, wok, Dutch oven, etc to 350°F and maintain that heat while frying. One piece at a time, transfer chicken from marinade to dry coat, tossing and compressing by-hand to coat. Once a batch of chicken is coated, fry, agitating occasionally, until very crispy and at an internal temp of 165°F, about 4 minutes. Then remove and drain on a paper towel-lined bowl, and continue with next batch.

Finish In a wok or large pan, heat 2 Tbsp oil on medium-high, add the minced garlic, ginger, scallion bottoms, and chiles. Cook until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Re-stir the prepped sauce bowl to recombine any separated ingredients, then add it to the wok. Lower heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, about 1 minute.

Toss the chicken and broccoli in the sauce until everything is thoroughly coated. Garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately with white rice.