Back for the first installment: Dapanji~ (Original)

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Main ingredients: 1 free-range chicken (a Sanhuang chicken cooks more easily); 2–3 potatoes (at Xiao Yan’s place, the potatoes are always eaten first ^_^); 2 green peppers; 1 tomato; onions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper, dried red peppers, bay leaves, cinnamon, and so on. Method of preparation: Step 1. Wash the chicken, drain it, and chop it into small pieces about 3 cm on each side. Step 2: Blanch the chicken pieces to remove the blood, then rinse them and set aside. It is recommended to put cold water in the pot, add the chicken pieces, and then turn on the heat. Many women blanch them in boiling water, but this way the blood isn’t actually removed. Step 3. Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces the same size as the chicken pieces; slice the green peppers, and cut the tomatoes into chunks. Step 4: Put oil in the pot (Xiaoyaner prefers rapeseed oil). Once the oil is hot, add white sugar (rock sugar gives a better color); stir-fry until the sugar turns colored, then add the pre-cooked chicken pieces and stir-fry until they change color, after which remove them from the pot. Add a little more oil to the pot. Once the oil is hot, add onions, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, doubanjiang, and other seasonings, and stir-fry until they release their aroma. Then add the chicken pieces that have been colored, and continue to stir-fry. After the excess moisture has evaporated, add tomatoes and beer (it should be noted that Xiao Yaner found that using beer makes the chicken more tender and gives it a better flavor); add enough liquid so that it covers the chicken. Once the fire is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the potatoes and cook until they are fully tender. Add the green peppers and stir a few times – that’s it! Steamy, ha! Don’t forget to add a belt-shaped topping at the bottom of the dish~～ (I’ll write a separate post about how to make that topping, hehe.) It’s ready now – time to eat! Should you eat the potatoes first, the noodles first, or the chicken first? That’s right, Xiao Yaner is a potato fanatic! The first bite has to be potatoes, right^_^ Go home and give it a try; it’s actually not difficult at all. It’s a home-made method, so it might not be authentic, but the taste is guaranteed to be good~