Peking Chicken With Mandarin Pancake

Brandess's Note:

This is one of my absolute favorite collected recipes in the world. It has always been a great crowd pleaser whenever I have served it. The chicken is simply astounding! It is the only time I eat chicken skin - the crispy crunch with all the seasonings just cannot be duplicated. However, you can certainly remove the skin, marinade and skip the pan frying. Just place directly into the oven. I usually serve this dish with Chinese or Japanese vegetable fried rice.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 4 hrs 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

MARINADE

• 4 chicken breasts , skin on
• 1 ½ teaspoons five-spice powder
• 3 slices fresh ginger , smashed with side of knife
• 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon mirin or 1 teaspoon dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

CONDIMENTS

• 1 cucumber , peeled, seeded, julienne strips
• 3 green onions , whole, julienne strips
• ½ cup hoisin sauce

PANCAKE

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 ½ tablespoons dark sesame oil

Directions:

1. CHICKEN: Using the tines of the fork, prick holes through the skin and meat of the chicken. This allows for the marinade to seep through. Combine all the rest of the ingredients and marinate the chicken breasts for up to 4 hours.
2. Slice the cucumber into very thin julienne strips. Slice the green onion stalks into very thin julienne strips. Soak both the cucumber and the onions in 1 cup of ice cold water. Drain very well before serving.
3. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the breasts, discard marinade, and pat the chicken very dry, especially the skin side. Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in large oven proof fry pan on high heat. If you don’t have an oven proof fry pan, just transfer the chicken to a roasting pan or baking sheet. When oil is hot, place chicken, skin side down in the pan. Fry until the skin is golden and crisp, about 3-5 minutes. (tip: don’t move the chicken when you are frying it. just leave it alone and let it fry to crisp up).
4. Turn skin side up and place oven proof fry pan in the oven for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing really depends on how thick your chicken breasts are. I always use a quick read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken breast- it should be 160 degrees. Move on to the making the pancakes in step 5, while the chicken is in the oven.
5. PANCAKE: Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and water in a large bowl. Stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes).
6. Shape the dough into a 1 1/2-inch-thick log. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each dough portion into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Brush 8 pancakes evenly with oil. Top each with one of the remaining pancakes, gently pressing together.
7. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 1 pancake stack in pan, and cook 1 minute on each side or until slightly puffed. Remove from pan, and cool. Peel pancakes apart to make 2 pancakes.
8. TO SERVE: Remove chicken breast from the pan and let rest on cutting board for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed, carefully cut the chicken breast with the sharpest knife you own, into thin 1/2" thick slices, keeping the skin intact.
9. TO EAT: I typically serve this family style at the table and let everyone make their own. Place 1 pancake in the palm of your hand or on a plate; slather on Hoisin sauce, add 3 slices of chicken, a few cucumber strips and some green onion shavings. Roll the pancake up and chow down!

Reviews

[MichelleAnne]

Very tasty! My chicken wasn't crispy...I don't think I patted it dry enough before cooking! Also, I doubled the pancakes...next time I will make 1 1/2. We enjoyed this very much - even the kids!

[Peter J]

This was great! The crispness of the chicken and fresh vegetables and the soft pancake contrasted each other really well and the marinade added a great depth of flavour.