Mala Chicken Linguine

Instructions

1. Boil the linguine in salted water, draining it 2 minutes before the time on the package. Toss with 2 tbsp grapeseed oil in a bowl.
2. Cut the bell pepper and the white part of the scallion into 2cm-long strips, and tear the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
3. Slice the onion into strips or dice it, and thinly julienne the garlic and ginger.
4. Finely chop the green part of the scallion and set it aside for garnish.
5. Mix all the sauce ingredients together well. Use about a third of it to coat and marinate the chicken, and set the rest aside in a bowl.
6. Heat 2 tbsp grapeseed oil in a pan and sauté the sliced scallion, ginger, garlic, and onion over medium heat.
7. Add the whole sichuan pepper to release its aroma, then push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the marinated chicken to the empty side and cook, flipping, until evenly done.
8. Once the chicken is fully cooked, add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and cashews and stir-fry.
9. Add the sauce and the noodles, then shake the pan vigorously to toss everything together evenly.
10. Turn off the heat, transfer to a plate, and finish with the reserved scallion and a sprinkle of pepper.

Tips

• Mala, the spice blend from China’s Sichuan province known for handling heat expertly, is intense enough to leave your tongue tingling and briefly numb — but unlike capsaicin heat, it doesn’t linger.
• This recipe recreates that Sichuan flavor using sichuan pepper and doubanjiang, two of mala’s signature ingredients. The finer you grind the sichuan pepper, the stronger its aroma comes through.
• You can swap the chicken for shrimp, or leave out the meat entirely and load up on vegetables for a vegan version. Adding bok choy, carrot, zucchini, and other vegetables also makes it work well as a shareable party dish.
• Since it’s a Sichuan-style pasta, it’s just as good eaten with chopsticks instead of a fork, alongside a cold beer.

Mala Chicken Linguine
Equipment: pot, frying pan, knife, cutting board, mixing bowl
Ingredients (1 serving)

- linguine 80g
- chicken 100g (chicken breast or boneless whole chicken)
- scallion 1 stalk
- oyster mushroom 3
- garlic 2 cloves
- bell pepper ½
- onion ¼
- ginger 15g
- grapeseed oil 4 tbsp
- sichuan pepper 1 tbsp (whole sichuan pepper or ground)
- cashews 1 handful
- salt 1 tbsp (for pasta water)
- black pepper a pinch
- vinegar 2 tbsp
- mirin 2 tbsp (or cooking rice wine)
- dark soy sauce 1½ tbsp
- doubanjiang (fermented chili bean paste) 1½ tbsp
- sugar 1 tbsp
- water 1 tbsp

Instructions
1. Boil the linguine in salted water, draining it 2 minutes before the time on the package. Toss with 2 tbsp grapeseed oil in a bowl.
2. Cut the bell pepper and the white part of the scallion into 2cm-long strips, and tear the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
3. Slice the onion into strips or dice it, and thinly julienne the garlic and ginger.
4. Finely chop the green part of the scallion and set it aside for garnish.
5. Mix all the sauce ingredients together well. Use about a third of it to coat and marinate the chicken, and set the rest aside in a bowl.
6. Heat 2 tbsp grapeseed oil in a pan and sauté the sliced scallion, ginger, garlic, and onion over medium heat.
7. Add the whole sichuan pepper to release its aroma, then push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the marinated chicken to the empty side and cook, flipping, until evenly done.
8. Once the chicken is fully cooked, add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and cashews and stir-fry.
9. Add the sauce and the noodles, then shake the pan vigorously to toss everything together evenly.
10. Turn off the heat, transfer to a plate, and finish with the reserved scallion and a sprinkle of pepper.

https://hong-recipe.pages.dev/en/recipes/mala-chicken-linguine/