P
Chinese · Xinjiang
Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken (Da Pan Ji)
Da pan ji (big plate chicken): Xinjiang's contribution to Han Chinese mainstream cooking — a large, communal dish of chicken, potato, and capsicum braised in a spiced tomato-based sauce with Silk Road spices. Originally a Uyghur-influenced dish popularised by Xinjiang immigrants in China; now eaten nationally. Served over pulled noodles (la mian) that absorb the rich sauce.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.5 kg
whole chicken, bone-in, chopped into pieces
bone-in pieces essential
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
500 g
2
capsicum (bell pepper)
cut into large pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 stalks
celery
cut into batons
Your own market
200 ml
beer (pijiu)
lager-style; adds malt depth
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
400 g
Spice blend
3
star anise
Your own market
4
dried chilli
whole
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
Sichuan pepper
whole
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
coriander seed
lightly crushed
Your own market
To serve
400 g
la mian (hand-pulled flat noodles)
fresh or freshly pulled; flat width
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Heat oil in a large wok or heavy pot over high heat. Add the bone-in chicken pieces in a single layer and sear without moving, so that each piece builds a proper crust rather than steaming against its neighbours. Turn and colour the second side; the pieces are ready when they release cleanly from the surface and the skin carries a uniform, mahogany colour.
2
Add the star anise, dried chilli, Sichuan pepper, and coriander seed directly to the chicken in the wok, so the residual fat from the sear carries their fragrance deep into the oil rather than into water. Stir over high heat until the spices are fragrant and the oil is visibly reddened by the chilli — this coloured, aromatic oil is the base on which the entire sauce is built.
From the canon — Sichuan pepper — hua jiao (flower pepper) — is not pepper at all but the dried husk of the berry of the prickly ash tree (Zanthoxylum simulans or Z. Sichuan Pepper (Hua Jiao): Toasting, Grinding, and the Ma Experience →
3
Add the chopped tomato and stir to combine, pressing them into the fat so they begin to break down and surrender their liquid into the spiced oil. Pour in the beer, then taste and wait: the sauce is ready for the braise only when the tomato has collapsed fully into a unified, rust-coloured liquid and the raw sharpness has cooked off entirely.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies: add the potato only now, after the sauce is established, so it braises in a liquid that is already flavoured rather than one still finding its character. Add just enough water to barely cover, bring to a simmer, and braise with a lid until the potato is tender throughout but holds its shape — a skewer should meet brief resistance at the centre before passing through cleanly.
5
Remove the lid and raise the heat to drive off excess liquid and concentrate the sauce before the final vegetables go in. Add the capsicum and celery and cook uncovered, stirring, until they are just yielding but still hold their colour and slight crunch, so they provide freshness and contrast against the richness of the braise.
6
Cook the la mian in a separate pot of boiling water until just tender, then drain and arrange on the base of the large communal plate so the noodles form a bed that will catch and absorb the sauce from beneath. Ladle the chicken, potato, and sauce over the noodles and bring to the table immediately — the noodles should be fully coated and already beginning to drink in the sauce on contact.
From the canon — La mian (拉面, literally pull noodles) is the ancient Chinese noodle-making technique of stretching a piece of dough between the hands, folding it repeatedly t… La Mian (拉面) — Hand-Pulled Noodles: The Full Technique →
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — A free-range or indigenous-breed bone-in chicken, jointed to order; hand-pulled la mian made to order at the table; Xinjiang-sourced dried chilli and Sichuan pepper.
02
Estate — Free-range bone-in chicken pieces from a butcher; fresh hand-pulled noodles from a specialist noodle house; whole spices from a spice merchant.
03
Market — Supermarket bone-in chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks preferred); fresh flat noodles from an Asian grocer; whole spices from a general grocer.
04
House — Any bone-in chicken pieces available; dried flat noodles as a substitute for la mian; ground spices used at reduced quantity in place of whole.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Chicken skin is deeply golden and releases cleanly from the wok before the spices are added.
◇Smell. Oil is visibly reddened and the spice blend is sharply fragrant before the tomato is added.
◇Sight. Tomato has fully collapsed into a unified, rust-coloured sauce before the beer and potato are introduced.
◇Touch. A skewer meets brief resistance then passes cleanly through the potato — tender throughout but not disintegrating.
◇Sight. Capsicum and celery retain their colour and slight structure after the final uncovered reduction.
◇Where it lives or dies. The potato must be added only after the chicken braise is established — too early and it disintegrates, collapsing the dish's essential contrast of textures.
Pillar V
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The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
A cold lager — the same pijiu used in the braising liquid completes the truck-stop register of the dish. Alternatively, a light, off-dry Chinese rice wine (mijiu) to temper the chilli heat without competing with the Silk Road spicing.
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance