Chili Black Bean Sauce Peanut Chicken (湖南豆豉辣椒花生鷄, Wu4 Naam4 Dau6 Si6 Laat6 Ziu1 Faa1 Sang1 Gai1)

A bed of bok choy serves as the base for this dish. The dish leans more towards presentation even though the bok choy could have been incorporated into the stir fry of the other ingredients. The other ingredients are rather straight forward – just chicken and straw mushrooms, but the toasted peanuts are a nice added crunch and flavor to the dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh or breast meat (雞肉, gai1 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 lb.	500 g.	Baby bok choy (小白菜, siu2 baak6 coi3), quartered lengthwise
15 oz.	425 g.	One drained can, 7.4 oz. (210 g.), straw mushrooms (草菇, cou2 gu1)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths
2 oz.	60 g.	Peanuts (花生, faa1 sang1)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Fu Chi Foods brand chili paste with fermented soy bean (湖南豆豉辣椒, wu4 naam4 dau6 si6 laat6 ziu1) or equivalent
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 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any skin or bones, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Add the baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 10 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the chicken 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.
3. Open and drain the can of straw mushrooms.
4. Wash and quarter lengthwise the baby bok choy.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths.
6. Put the peanuts into a small bowl.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Fu Chi Foods brand chili paste with fermented soy bean or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding the peanuts from the small bowl. Toast the peanuts and then place them back into the small bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the baby bok choy. Stir fry the baby bok choy to brown it. Remove the baby bok choy from the wok and form a bed on the serving plate with the leaves in the center and the stems facing the plate edge.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil. Add the chicken pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the chicken in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the chicken aside in a bowl.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the straw mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms, and then add the green onions and the bowl with the chicken back into the wok.
5. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients on top of the bed of bok choy in the presentation plate. Top with the toasted peanuts and serve the dish with steamed rice.