Debone chicken thighs and chop into bite size pieces. If you are ok with bones in, you can directly chop the chicken into pieces. Typically we include the skin as well.
Combine chicken into a large mixing bowl. Add shaoxing wine, salt, soy sauce, corn starch and mix well! Lastly top with a little peppercorn oil (use only a tiny amount)
Finely chop garlic, about 3-4 cloves. You can use a garlic press but hand chopped is the best for this dish. Moving to the green onion, chop the white part into half inch pieces, and finely chop the green part, set aside.
Take out about 2 cups of dry chilies, cut into half inch pieces with a pair of scissors and let the seeds come out. Use a strainer to shake out more seeds. We remove the seeds to reduce the heat but preserve the fiery flavor of the chilies.
Take out about 2 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn.
Add oil to a wok, use about 1 cup. Restaurants may use more but I like to use high quality oil such as olive oil so I can reuse it for cooking. When the temperature reaches about 284 Fahrenheit, or when bubbles come out testing with a chopstick, it’s time to add the chicken pieces. Give it a stir and let chicken fry until slightly golden brown on the outside. Take out the chicken and set aside.
Drop in some hard liquor in the dry chilies, this helps releasing the flavor later.
On medium low heat, add 1 tbsp oil, drop in Sichuan peppercorn, then add dry chilies. Stir until fragrant.
Add chicken pieces. Give it a good mix, add garlic, scallion white. Stir well. Season with a little soy sauce, It’s ready to serve.
Top with roasted sesame seeds. And finely chopped green onion.
