[CH] More Hot Chinese
Doug Irvine (dirvin@bc.sympatico.ca)
Fri, 29 May 1998 11:48:03 -0700
Here is another Hot Chinese Recipe from Szechuan Province. This one uses
a very hot chile paste, available at a Chinese grocery store made by Lee
Kum Kee, Chile paste with garlic. It is incredibly hot, dont have any
idea what kind of chiles they are using, but they are HOT!
This dish also makes use of another Chinese cooking trick, the slippery
marinade, comprised of sherry(or Chinese cooking wine),egg white,
cornstarch and sesame oil, which is the reason that chicken pieces done
at a good chinese restaurant taste the way they do. Have fun with this
recipe, a wok is almost an essential, and they are so inexpensive at a
Chinese market. Get a carbon steel one, and then season it
thusly...first scrub with detergent and steel wool, then rinse well, put
it in the oven to completely dry, then rub peanut oil all around it on
the inside, then heat it over high heat, until it gets black..wipe it
out when it cools, and re-oil..that's it, it will get blacker with time
and use, and eventually be completely non stick.
CHICKEN WITH HOT CHILE PASTE
8 Chinese dried black mushrooms
1 lb boned chicken, dark or light meat
1 tbls dry sherry
1 egg white
1 tsp sugar
1 tbls cornstarch
2 tbls chile paste with garlic..or more, beware!
1/4 cup water or stock
1 tbls light soy sauce
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 cup shredded bamboo shoots
2 tbls shredded ginger root
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 tsp chopped habanero(one whole chopped hab)
1 tbls cornstarch mixed with 3 tbls of water
sesame oil to taste
Soak the dried mushrooms in very hot water for 30 minutes until soft.
Remove and discard the stems, and shred the mushrooms. Chop the chicken
into bite size pieces and set aside. Lightly beat the egg white, add the
sherry, half the sugar and the cornstarch, mix well and add the
chicken...place in the fridge, this can be done several hours before the
cooking process, in fact it is better if you do. In a small bowl,
combine the chile paste, water, soy sauce and the remaining sugar...set
this aside.
Cooking: Heat a wok or large skillet over high, until a drop of water
sizzles, maintain high heat throughout the cooking process. Add the
peanut oil, and just before it starts to smoke, add the chicken pieces
after giving them a stir in the marinade..stir fry for about a minute,
until the chicken begins to brown slightly, and remove the chicken.
Drain off all but about 2 tbls of oil, re-heat the wok, and add the
bamboo shoots, mushrooms, carrots, and the habs, stir fry for about one
minute, then add the chile paste mixture, stir fry this in and add the
reserved cooked chicken, stir fry another minute, thicken with the
cornstarch mixture, add about 1 tbls of sesame oil,stir around and
serve...this will serve two with other Chinese dishes, rice or-and a
vegetable dish...one of those tomorrow. Enjoy,Doug in BC