Chongqing Spicy Chicken is a highly representative Sichuan – Chongqing – style delicacy, renowned for its “spiciness without dryness and crispy, delicious taste”. Fresh chicken is cut into small pieces and marinated with cooking wine, light soy sauce, salt, white pepper powder, etc., to lock in the juice and add base flavor. The marinated chicken is coated with a thin layer of starch and fried in oil heated to 70% heat until set, then removed. When the oil temperature rises to 80% heat, it is fried again, making the chicken skin golden and crispy while keeping the inside tender and juicy. Heat a little oil in another pan, add a large amount of dried chili peppers, Chinese prickly ash, ginger slices, and garlic slices to stir – fry until a strong spicy and numbing aroma is released. Then pour in the fried chicken pieces, add roasted sesame seeds and scallion sections, and stir – fry quickly to coat each piece of chicken evenly with the seasonings. The whole dish has a bright red color, with chili peppers and chicken setting each other off. The chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. With one bite, the spicy and numbing taste spreads instantly in the mouth, perfectly blending the numbing sensation of Chinese prickly ash with the spiciness of chili peppers. The more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes. It’s an excellent dish to go with rice and a popular item on the menus of Chongqing restaurants, deeply loved by diners who can’t resist spicy food.