Steamed Lemon Chicken and Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce (豆豉檸蒸蝦鷄, Dau6 Si6 Ning4 Zing1 Haa1 Gai1)

 

This recipe was updated on 30 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

 

When I first moved out of my parents’ house, many years ago, I was cooking novice. My Mom had always prepared the meals and now it was going to be up to me to do the cooking. Parents, being who they are, helped the newly independent kid by supplying some tools for me to succeed on my own. One thing my mom gave me was some 3x5 cards (remember those!) with recipes on them. The roots of this dish come from that original 3x5 card, which I still have.

 

The original dish my Mom used to make was Lemon Chicken with Black Bean Sauce. This was a healthier version of the fried lemon chicken dish with gloppy sauce that you get at Chinese restaurants. This dish is steamed and the lemon accompanies a black bean sauce (which is a great taste combination). I’ve modified the original ingredients slightly and added a flourish of shrimp to the dish, but the roots of the dish remain as written on that 3x5 card.

 

The chicken should be marinated at least 4 hours (overnight is preferable) and you’ll need to defrost the shrimp before steaming the dish. Other than those preparation steps, the dish is quick and easy to prepare (perfect for any cooking novice!).

 

Enjoy!

Ingredients

½ lb.	250 g.	Prawn or shrimp meat (蝦仁, haa1 jan4), enough to cover the chicken in the steaming dish
2 lb.	1 kg.	Chicken thigh (鷄髀, gai1 bei2) or breast meat (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1	1	Green bell pepper (青椒, ceng1 ziu1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) strips
1	1	Lemon (檸, ning4), halved and each half cut into 4 wedges
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6), washed and lightly crushed
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Water for steaming

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
		Lemon reamer
9 in.	23 cm.	Plate or bowl for steaming
12 in.	30 cm.	Steamer (or larger)
		Plate lifter

 

Chicken, Salted Black Bean, and Lemon Mixture

Instructions

1. If using frozen prawn or shrimp, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Take the shrimp out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking. Shell and devein the shrimp. In the USA, the names prawn and shrimp are used interchangeably, with prawn usually meaning a large shrimp; either will work in this dish.
2. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any bones, excess fat, and skin. Cut the chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the 

   

   Shrimp Layer

   baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
3. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking. Place the chicken and any remaining marinade in one layer into the steaming dish.
4. Wash and lightly crush the salted black beans in a small bowl.

   

   Bell Pepper and Lemon Wedge Topping

   Traditionally the base of the handle of a Chinese cleaver was used to crush the salted black beans, but use any method that works. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and mix into the bowl with the salted black beans. Mix the bowl with the salted black beans into the steaming dish with the chicken.
5. Wash and cut the lemon in half. Use a lemon reamer to remove the juice from each lemon half, mixing the juice into the steaming dish with the chicken. Cut each lemon half into four wedges after removing the juice, reserving the wedges for later use.
6. Place the shrimp in one layer on top of the chicken in the steaming dish.
7. Wash and cut the green bell pepper into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) strips. First cut off the ends of the bell pepper, leaving an open cylinder. Remove the seeds and central core of the bell pepper and make one cut lengthwise to open the cylinder. Flatten the open bell pepper cylinder and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) strips.
8. Arrange the lemon wedges and bell pepper strips on top of the shrimp in the steaming dish.
9. Add water to the steamer and cover. Bring the water in the steamer to a vigorous boil before adding the steaming dish and steam on high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium to medium-high and steam for another 10 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, use a plate lifter to remove the steaming dish from the steamer. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables.