A simple, quick and easy chicken stir-fry with delicious flavours. Recipe is from the fabulous book, Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop. According to the author, this dish is from the Hunanese firework-producing city of Liuyang. While in the original recipe, the chicken is deep-fried, here, the author has simply stir-fry the chicken pieces to keep its succulent mouthfeel. The seasonings remain the same as the original recipe.
I have cooked this dish twice, the first time, I've used chicken thigh with a combination of chicken breast meat. The photo above is cooked with all chicken breast meat. The author mentioned that fermented black beans are among the most distinctive Hunanese seasonings, especially when used in combination with chillies. In this recipe, there's a teaspoon or two of ground chilli used, do not skip that, as it really brings out the flavour of this dish. The next time instead of using only ground chilli, I would mix some coarse chilli flakes as well. Served with some stir-fry veggie and a soup, with fluffy white rice, makes such a satisfying meal.
(Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop)
2 boneless chicken thighs (225gm)
1 smallish green pepper, or 1/2 each red and green pepper
3 tbsp cooking oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
an equivalent amount of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 tsp ground chillies, to taste
salt
2 tbsp finely sliced spring onion greens
1 tsp sesame oil
For the marinade :
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp potato flour
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
Cut the chicken into 1-2cm cubes and put into a bowl. Stir together the marinade ingredients, add to the chicken and mix well.
Cut the pepper(s) into small squares to match the chicken. Heat a wok over a high flame, add 1 tbsp of the oil, then the peppers and stir-fry until hot and slightly cooked, but still crisp. Remove and set aside.
Reheat the wok over a high flame. Add the remainder of the oil, swirl it around, then tip in the marinated chicken and stir-fry to separate the pieces. When they have separated and are starting to become pale, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until they smell delicious. Add the black beans and stir a few times until you can smell them. Then add the ground chillies and return the pepper to the wok. Continue to stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through and everything is sizzlingly delicious, seasoning with salt to taste. Then stir in the spring onions and, off the heat, the sesame oil. Serve.
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