What is Yui Shan Chicken?
Yui Shan chicken is also referred to as “Szechuan chicken”, a spicy chicken recipe popular in China and many other countries and parts of the world. When a person talks about “yui shan” or “szechuan”, he/she almost always refers to a hot and/or spicy dish very common in Chinese cuisine. Aside from chicken though, other meat items may be used with “szechuan” style of cooking or with “szechuan” sauce. Other meat varieties include pork, beef, or lamb.

For yui shan chicken, usually the meat is “oil poached” or “parboiled” to make it very tender and soft. Many Chinese cooks also prefer to have the chicken meat cut into strips. These strips are then usually dipped in a mixture of eggs and cornstarch much like a chicken fillet. These chicken pieces may be sautéed or fried on a pan until they become white in color. After which, the meat is removed from the pan. Vegetables like carrots and pepper are then sautéed with the chicken fillet added a little later. And after all is done with the chicken meat, the famous Szechuan hot and spicy sauce is made. Usually it is the Tabasco sauce, chillies and pepper that make the Szechuan type of sauce really hot. But other ingredients may also be added to make the sauce spicier. Usual ingredients that are part of Szechuan sauce include soy sauce, ginger, bell peppers, onions, and many others. All these ingredients are mixed together with some oil to make the Szechuan base. This sauce may be readily mixed with the sautéed or fried chicken fillet or may be served as dip.

Depending on the cook’s preferences, the Szechuan sauce may include a certain amount of chillies and Tabasco sauce. Obviously, if spicy and hot is desired, more of the “hot” flavored ingredients are put in the mixture. In the case of yui shan or Szechuan chicken, the spicy sauce is a great complement to the bland taste of the sautéed or fried chicken strip.