Serves a Crowd

Turbo-Charged Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken

by:
October  3, 2023
5
3 Ratings
Turbo-Charged Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken
Photo by Food52
  • Prep time 3 hours
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

Big Plate Chicken is dish-naming at its best: simple, straightforward, and strangely appealing. It's an iconic dish from Xinjiang that is—literally, you guessed it—a very, very (and I mean *very*) large plate of chicken over flat chewy noodles.

Unfortunately, more often than not in the few times that I have been served it, it didn’t taste as big as it sounds. The noodles were often more homey than robust, and not throwing any punches because, in its defense, it was always meant as a humble, working-class meal designed to fill the tummy, not the senses.

Well, I object. I have an empty hole in my heart that requires a spicier version. I decided to up the flavor, spice, and heat levels of the dish without deviating from its core principles. It’s still a very big plate of chicken. It still has flat chewy noodles to soak up all its glory. It even keeps those humble potato chunks to remind us where it came from. It’s still the same guy. It just doesn’t go to church anymore. —Mandy @ Lady and pups

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Turbo-Charged Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken
Ingredients
  • For the hand-pulled noodles:
  • 400 grams all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 200 grams water
  • Tapioca or potato starch, for coating (we’re using tapioca starch instead of oil because it adds more chew and a nice sheen to the noodles)
  • For the chicken:
  • 1,500 grams whole, free-range chicken (do not use boneless skinless chicken breast)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-dark soy sauce
  • 1 handful dried whole chiles (arbol or Thai)
  • 5 dried bay leaves
  • 2 small red bell peppers, diced
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (45 grams) doubanjiang (Sichuan broad bean chili paste)
  • 1/4 cup gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
  • 3 tablespoons (60 grams) strawberry jam
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground fennel
  • 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon five spice powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground sand ginger (if unavailable, try ground galangal)
  • 12 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
  • 1 small nub ginger, sliced
  • 1 red onion, peeled and diced
  • 5 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup (60 grams) shaoxing wine
  • 3 cups (720 grams) chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons (60 grams) fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chicken powder/bouillon powder
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 large potato, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
  • 4 green jalapeño peppers (or 1 large poblano or green bell pepper if you’re not spice lover), de-seeded and cut into bite-size chunks
  • 4 red jalapeño peppers (or 1 large red bell pepper), de-seeded and cut into bite-size chunks
Directions
  1. For the hand-pulled noodles:
  2. In a stand-mixer with a dough hook, mix flour, sea salt, and water until a craggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let hydrate for 10 minutes. Start kneading on low-medium speed for 15 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Transfer to a counter, and roll the dough out into a 8x12-inch sheet, then cut the dough into 16 equal rectangles that is 1-inch wide and 6-inches long. Coat each generously with tapioca starch (better at preventing sticking and improving the texture and sheen of the noodles) and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge (but bring them back to room-temperature before proceeding).
  3. 40 minutes to 1 hour before serving, take one piece of the dough and gently slowly stretch it until it doubles in length, or even longer if you can manage without breaking it. Then use the meaty part of your palm to continue to press to flatten and stretch the noodle out thinner and longer, until it’s about 2 ½-feet long and 1-inch wide. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Keep the noodles whole if you like or cut them in half lengthwise for easier serving. Cover and set aside until needed.
  1. For the chicken:
  2. With heavy-duty kitchen shears, cut the whole chicken (bone included) down to 1 ½-inch chunks into a large bowl. Toss with extra dark soy sauce, whole dried chilis and dried bay leaves. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  3. In a tall cup with an immersion blender, blend 2 red bell peppers, doubanjiang, gochugaru and strawberry jam until smoothly puréed, set aside. Mix together coriander, cumin, fennel, Sichuan peppercorns, five spice, black pepper and sand ginger, set aside.
  4. In a large wok or dutch oven, heat canola oil and sesame oil over high heat. Add the chicken including the dried chili and bay leaves and try to spread them out evenly. Do not move them for 2 minutes to get some proper browning on one side, then turn them, and leave for another 2 minutes so on and so forth, until the chicken is browned on all sides. Add garlic, ginger and red onion, and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
  5. Add the bell pepper purée. Continue to cook and stir until excess moisture has evaporated and the sauce starts to brown slightly on the edges and bottom of the pot. Add shaoxing wine, cook for 1 minute for the alcohol to evaporate, then add chicken stock, fish sauce, chicken powder, mustard, the spice-mixture, and potato chunks. Mix evenly then turn down the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and maintain a gentle boil and cook for another 15 to 20 min until the liquid reduces by a quarter.
  6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the noodles in the boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes until all floated to the surface. Drain well and set inside a very large serving platter.
  7. Lastly, add the red and green jalapeños to the chicken stew and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour the braised chicken over the cooked noodles, and serve immediately.
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