Spicy Chicken Noodle from Szechuan Cuisine in Glendale AZ
Ever since I tried this dish called Spicy Chicken Noodle at Szechuan Cuisine in Glendale AZ my thoughts and expectations on Chinese Food have changed forever. This was maybe the most delicious Chinese Dish I ever tasted. It was like Asian Thanksgiving. This dish was basically an Asian Chicken Stew with bell pepper, potato, onion, garlic, chili, maybe cumin, maybe star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce and chewy noodles. It was full of different textures and many exciting different flavors. It was mouth numbing spicy but not crazy stingingly spicy like Sichuan water boiled dishes. This dish was so interesting. Even the onions turned magically super sweet when you ate them and cooled things off. I never had anything like it before. This dish was spicy but delicious and exciting to eat.
I have read that in China this dish is called Big Plate Chicken or Da Pan Ji or Dapanji. By one Asian Person I met I was told that this is a Shaanxi Dish but I read that this dish is Chinese/Uyghur Fusion but originally came from Xinjiang China.
I read that Shaanxi Garden in Mesa AZ is considered to be an outstanding Chinese Restaurant. It just so happens that Shaanxi Garden also offers their variation of this dish and they call it #22. Braised Chicken with Noodle and Chestnuts.
#22. Braised Chicken with Noodle and Chestnuts
A very similar dish. The chicken is the same bone on leg but it’s darker in color and flavored from marination or something. In this dish the sauce is hot from jalapeños and dried chili pods but doesn’t have Sichuan Peppercorns. The sauce does have a slightly different flavor. This one is much heavier with star anise. This plate has delicious chestnuts in it and I get that sweet going on in it that breaks up the rest (like the way the onions are sweet in the dish from the other place). The last difference was the noodles used. The Shaanxi Garden had a super long wide noodle that was delicate and not as chewy as what the Glendale restaurant used.
This one from from Shaanxi Garden I did get to eat a second time. On my second taste the jalapeños and star anise calmed down so the flavors seemed more balanced. I also got the bottom of the dish stuff I didn’t get before and pulled out unusual spices that I’m not familiar with. One spice used was a very thin small twig. I pulled out some twigs. Another spice was some sort of black bark. There also were small black pods that looked similar to black cardamon but they were smaller. Second time around this dish was more delicious to me but it was strange to pull out twigs and several pieces of bark.
BOTH DISHES WERE GREAT! I can’t really say that one is really better than the other……
But…….
Both were great but for me the Szechwan Cuisine’s take on the Big Plate Chicken had a slight edge for my personal taste………..I am partial to Sichuan Peppercorns and taste of the stew (first time tastings). The Sichuan Peppercorns maybe added sensations that were so interesting like the way the sweet onions hit me. Jalapeños just don’t do that for me. The Szechwan Cuisine’s dish also had a richer developed Chicken flavor that was delicious. I think the Sichuan Peppercorns just added that magic factor that made the dish so exciting. Like I said before this dish wasn’t crazy super hot spicy like Szechwan water boiled dishes…….but it was hot…but delicious. It was better than just right…It was magical. …………………………………………………………………………… I also note that I don’t know if I will ever get that dish prepared the same way again….. I’ve experienced at Szechuan Cuisine that communication can be an issue….that is when I tried to order food made with Sichuan peppercorns on more than one occasion.
Two versions of a very similar dish that is very difficult to come by in Metro Phoenix.
The Forking Truth is that EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change….(repeat)……..EVERY FORKING THING IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE and your experience may or may not differ.
www.SzechuanCuisine.org
www.ShaanxiBiangBiang.com
The Forking Truth
