How to Make a Simple Chinese Dinner Meal (2 Recipes Included)

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To give you an idea of what a legit Chinese eats on a regular day, let’s whip up a simple Chinese dinner meal, which includes two recipes. The Sichuan Peppercorn Chicken is poached to the perfect doneness and then mixed with a mouth-watering sauce. We will turn the chicken cooking broth into a steaming, hearty shanghai-style noodle soup. Both recipes are quick, easy, budget-friendly, and enough to feed a family of 3. If you want to see more of these quick, budget-friendly meals, let me know in the comments.
 
Ingredients for the Sichuan Peppercorn Chicken

To poach the chicken
2 lb / 907g of chicken
1200ml / 5 cups of water
1.5 inches of ginger, sliced thinly
4 scallions

To Season the Chicken
1 Tbsp of oil
8 dried red chilies (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/red-dried-chilies)
1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/sichuan-peppercorns)
1 tbsp chili powder (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/mild-chili-powder)
3 Thai bird eye chilies, diced
3 Tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/light-soy-sauce)
1 Tbsp of oyster sauce (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/premium-oyster-sauce)
2 tsp of brown sugar
1 scallion, diced
3 tbsp of diced cilantro
1 tbsp of roasted sesame seeds (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/white-sesame-seeds-w)
3 cloves of garlic, diced
3 Tbsps of oil

To Make the Shanghai Noodle Soup
5 cups of chicken broth
1 tsp of salt
3 Tbsps of soy sauce (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/light-soy-sauce)
3 scallions, diced
2 Tbsps of pork lard
1/2 tsp of ground white pepper
3 servings of noodles
3 oz of green leafy vegetables

Hi everyone, I am Mandy. Welcome to Souped 
Up Recipes. Today’s video is a bit special;  
instead of sharing a single dish, we are going 
to whip up a simple Chinese dinner meal to give  
you an idea of what a legit Chinese eats on a 
regular day. This dinner includes 2 recipes.
The Sichuan Peppercorn Chicken is poached 
to the perfect doneness and then mixed  
with a mouth-watering sauce. We will turn 
the chicken cooking broth into a steaming,  
hearty Shanghai-style noodle soup. Both 
recipes are quick, easy, budget-friendly,  
and enough to feed a whole family. Please hit the 
like button and we gonna start with our protein.
I have got here a piece of boneless 
chicken breast and 2 chicken leg quarters.  
You can use one of the cuts if you want. 
I used both because I prefer dark meat,  
but my husband likes chicken breast. 
Turn the heat to medium. It will take about  
8-10 minutes for it to come to a simmer. 
While waiting, add a drizzle of oil to a  
saucepan along with 1 Tbsp of Sichuan 
peppercorns and 8 dried red chilies,  
which looks like a lot but these chilies are 
not that spicy. They are more for fragrance  
and presentation. You can adjust the 
amount depending on your tolerance.  
Stir over low heat for a few minutes.
Take them out and cool on the cutting  
board. To the same saucepan, add 1 Tbsp of 
chili powder and some diced Thai bird-eye  
chilies and stir well. Yes, I know that is a 
lot of spicy ingredients. Sichuan recipes like  
to use dried and fresh, spicy, and mild chilies 
to make the dish more complex in all dimensions. 
All right, turn off the heat and 
continue by adding 3 Tbsps of soy sauce,  
1 Tbsp of oyster sauce, and 2 tsp of brown 
sugar. Mix well and set the sauce aside. 
By now, the chicken pot should have come to a 
boil. Skim off the scum that is floating on top  
of the water. Switch the heat to low and continue 
to cook the chicken for 8 more minutes. 
During this time, we can press the Sichuan 
peppercorn with a heavy-duty cleaver. They  
are very crispy after toasted so they should 
crush easily. Then chop as fine as possible.  
If you don’t have a cleaver, a mortal and 
pestle will do the same job. Once done,  
roughly dice the chilies as well. This is called 
刀口辣椒, which means peppers under the blade. It  
provides a numbing effect, a complex citrus 
aroma, and a nutty, smoky taste. Set it aside. 
Besides that, you will also need 
to dice some scallions, cilantro,  
and garlic, and set everything aside.
By now, the chicken should be simmered for  
about 8 minutes. Move it off the stove but let the 
chicken sit in the hot water for 12-15 minutes.  
The rest of the heat will continue to cook the 
chicken through. At this point, we will fill a  
separate pot with water and heat it over medium 
heat. We will use it to boil the noodles later. 
Check back on the chicken by poking the thickest 
part of the meat. If there is no pink juice coming  
out, the chicken is safe to eat. Take the chicken 
out of the pot and chill it in the ice bath for  
a few minutes to cool completely. You will have 
a big pot of chicken cooking liquid left. Don’t  
waste it. Instead, we will going to turn it into 
Shanghai Noodle Soup. Discard the scallion and  
ginger slices. Use a sieve to remove the 
impurities. Season the broth with 3 Tbsps  
of soy sauce, 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of ground 
white pepper, some diced scallion, and 2 Tbsps  
of pork lard, which adds a rich flavor and makes 
this noodle soup the Shanghai style. Stir to melt  
the lard. Even though the broth has been sitting 
for 15 minutes, it is still very hot. If your  
stock is too cold, you may need to reheat it in 
order for the lard to melt. Set it aside for now. 
Take the chicken out of the ice water and use 
paper towels to wipe the excess moisture. To  
debone the chicken leg, use scissors to cut around 
the ankles. Continue to cut along the bones. Then,  
break the connection between the joints, and you 
should be able to pull out the bones one by one.  
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. 
You can remove the skin if you want,  
but as a native Cantonese, I love 
the texture of the skin, so I will keep it.  
As for the chicken breast, just 
pull it into bite-size shreds.  
Place the chicken into a big serving bowl. 
Add diced scallions and cilantro. Pour in the  
seasoning sauce that we made before. Sprinkle 
some roasted sesame seeds and mix thoroughly. 
Oh, don’t forget to sprinkle the minced garlic 
and the dao kou la jiao. Heat 3 Tbsps of oil  
to smoking hot and pour it on the chilies 
and peppercorns to activate the flavors.  
This is the key step to making your house smell 
amazing. It literally feels like I am in a Sichuan  
restaurant. Mix well and our first dish is done. 
By the way, this is actually a cold dish, so you  
do not need to reheat it. Set it aside for now.
We are going to cook the noodles. This recipe  
is enough to serve three people, so you will need 
three servings of noodles. I am using these dried  
oriental noodles, but other types will also 
work. The cooking time depends on the type  
and thickness of the noodles; please follow 
the instructions on the package. Mine took  
about 3 minutes to boil. Toss in some green leafy 
vegetables. Just add some fiber into your diet,  
making this meal lighter and healthy. 
Once the noodles are cooked to your desired  
doneness, transfer them into the chicken 
broth, and there you have it—a delicious  
dinner that is well-balanced with proteins, 
vegetables, and carbs. The noodle soup is  
simple but really comforting. Optionally, I 
like to add a runny yolk tea egg, which I made  
not so long ago. You can check the recipe right 
here. If you don’t have tea eggs, a sunny side  
or over-easy fried egg will also work.
If you want to see more of these quick,  
budget-friendly meals, let 
me know in the comments. 
I hope you give this a try soon.
As always, the printable recipe  
links are in the description. Go check it out.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe to my channel  
for more easy and authentic Chinese food.
Thank you for watching and I will see you  
next time.
BYE!