Strange Flavored Chicken

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Hey Davisters,

I've been having a workplace discussion about the now-famous dish Strange Flavored Chicken, and whether or not the dish originated at our own China Sun Restaurant (across from the Somerville Theater). I seem to recall hearing somewhere that it did, and that it came to be famous (and oft imitated) when the menu was shown on Letterman or some other late-night show. Wondering if anyone has the straight dope on this.

Also, how is it? I've never tried it.

Comments

[irinarasp.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard of it.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i had it once. it's kind of spicy, kind of... strange, in a "i can't really tell you what it tastes like but it's not bad" kind of way. i remember it having pineapple in it but i'm not sure how accurate the memory is.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

that is not the Strange Flavored Chicken I had in Arlington center about 5 years ago.

Mine was remarkably unstrange--it tasted like chicken.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

well, mine did too. ~:> i meant the kind of sauce/spice it had on it. (mine came from china sun.)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Mine actually just tasted like chicken in a chicken-stock based sauce. It was tasty enough, but pretty ornery.

When I order "Strange Flavored Chicken" I expect it to goddam taste like skittles and popcorn.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

It's also served at Mary Chung's in Central.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I thought theirs was 'mysterious flavored chicken'.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

You might be right; it's been a while since I've been to Mary's.

[frederic.livejournal.com]

I've seen it in Connecticut in the early 80's. I'm guessing that the dish can be traced back to mainland China, not Davis Square.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

I've got recipes for "strange flavoured chicken" in a couple of Chinese cookbooks.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'll stop by China Sun and try some, just to see what it's like. It's sounding like it's not native-of-Davis after all.

[catalyst.livejournal.com]

     Your search - +"Strange Flavor*Chicken" +(letterman OR leno OR carson OR conan) - did not match any documents. (http://www.google.com/search?hs=9Fx&hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=%2B%22Strange+Flavor*Chicken%22+%2B%28letterman+OR+leno+OR+carson+OR+conan%29&btnG=Search)

     on the other hand, googling +"(gui OR guai) wei jiang" (http://www.google.com/search?q=%2B%22%28gui+OR+guai%29+wei+jiang%22) returns several sites that comment on the sauce in relation to touring the actual country of china, so it is likely authentic. ish.

[sissychrissy1.livejournal.com]

Everything I've ever eaten at China Sun was stange flavored.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

*laughing*

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Truer words have never been written. :)

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

Guai-wei Ji or however you want to spell it is a traditional Sichuan dish. Not from Somerville, sorry.

It's got vinegar, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns. It's sweet, sour, salty, and ma-la at the same time. I think it's a little gross, but if you like sour things it could be enjoyable.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

What flavor does "ma-la" mean? Never heard that term before.

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

"numbing and hot" ... the effect of Sichuan peppercorns and hot chiles

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

the only thing that sounds like "ma-la" to me that i've seen as a typical dish name is the character "sesame" and "spicy" (as in peppery spicy).
this is assuming that "ma-la" is manadarin.
i love 'ma-la' dishes. yum.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

Guai wei Ji - characters: weird, flavor, chicken
Guai wei Jiang - characters: weird, flavor, sauce
I think next time I go to Chinatown I will visit the sauce aisle and see if I find anything that says "guai wei jiang", and then look under the ingredients list. :) I think I had it once at China Sun but can't remember it making a spectacular impression. They serve what I like to call "Good Bad-Chinese," mostly unauthentic but tastes ok on those late work nights.
And I haven't gotten sick eating there yet, so that's a good thing. :)