Soy sauce, 8 teaspoons
Ground Sichuan pepper, ½ teaspoon
Ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon
Salt, ½ teaspoon
Peanut oil, 3 tablespoons
Garlic, 3 cloves diced
Mild fresh green pepper, ¼ cup diced
Cilantro, 1 tablespoon, chopped
Coca-Cola, 16oz.
- Lay out the package of chicken drumsticks.
- Pick up each drumstick, take a knife, and put a couple scores (small cuts) into the meat of each drumstick.
- Put the chicken right back down where it was.
- Sprinkle salt, black pepper, sichuan pepper, and MSG on top of the drumsticks.
- Pour the soy sauce on top of the chicken.
- Give each piece a quick turn, just to mix everything up and cover the chicken.
- Heat a wok or pan, add the peanut oil, and get that up to the smoking point. Leave it on high heat.
- Add the chicken and marinade liquid.
- Once the skin is a rich, tasty brown, add the garlic and green pepper and stir for 15 seconds. Still on high heat.
- Add Coca-Cola.
- Bring it up to a simmer and turn the heat down just to keep the simmer going.
- Put the lid on.
- Wait. The amount of liquid that will evaporate depends on your lid and the seal, so this part isn’t an exact science. If after 30 minutes you still aren’t at the next step, remove the lid and reduce the liquid until you reach it.
- When most of the liquid is gone, remove the lid and put the heat on low. The last bit of reduction is touchy and subjective, so don’t try to automate it. The sugar in the Coca-Cola will have caramelized and thickened it into a glaze. A lot of people say these things are ready “when it coats the back of a spoon.” If that works for you, fine. I just stir it around and when it coats the chicken in a way that looks so appetizing I have to stop cooking it and eat it, I do.
- Cut the heat, add the cilantro, and stir.
- Plate. It will still be hot so give it a couple minutes to cool. This will also help the glaze stick to the chicken as more water is lost in the wait.