Cashew Asparagus Chicken (腰果蘆筍鷄, Jiu1 Gwo2 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Asparagus is in season, so here’s another black bean sauce dish using chicken. Cashews are an extra addition that goes well with this dish. I was feeling a little lazy when I made this dish, so I used bottled black bean garlic sauce to make it. Lee Kum Kee makes a really good bottled sauce in my humble opinion, and I use it whenever I don’t make the black bean sauce myself. I used the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid together with a corn starch slurry to increase the amount of sauce.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken breast or thigh meat (鷄肉, gai1 juk6), cut into 2-inch (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	2	Garlic cloves (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
0.5 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.	Asparagus (lou4 seon2, 蘆筍), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths
8-10	8-10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (dung1 gu1, 冬菇), rehydrated and cut into 0.5-inch (15 mm) pieces
20-25	20-25	Cashews (jiu1 gwo2, 腰果)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce (蒜蓉豆豉醬, syun3 jung4 dau6 si6 zoeng3) or equivalent
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)
		Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid
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. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Prepare the chicken breast or thigh meat by removing any skin, fat or bones, and cut the meat into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Add the baking soda to the meat, allow to tenderize for 10 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. This step can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
3. Marinate the chicken for at least one hour or overnight 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.
4. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces and set aside. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. Prepare the sauce in a small bowl, mix together the black bean garlic sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl add the corn starch and water to form a corn starch slurry.
6. Wash and cut the asparagus into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths.
7. Put the cashews into a small bowl.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the cashews, quickly browning them, and then removing the cashews to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the chicken in a single layer on the bottom. 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 into the bowl (separate from the cashews).
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the asparagus. Add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid to facilitate heat transfer while browning the asparagus. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok and stir fry all the ingredients together.
5. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok, mixing the ingredients together. If the amount of sauce is insufficient, add some of the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish, top with the cashews, and serve with steamed rice.