Hot and Sour Wood Ear Chicken (辣酸雲耳雞, Laat6 Syun1 Wan4 Ji5 Gai1)

Black vinegar provides the sour and red chili peppers provide the heat to this dish. This flavor combination gives the dish its taste signature. Chicken and wood ear fungus is also another classic ingredient combination. Wood ear fungus is available fresh at your local Asian market and provides a slight crunchiness to this dish. If you can’t get fresh, wood ear fungus is also available dried, in which case all you have to do is rehydrate the fungus. Just be careful how much dried fungus you use, since rehydrating dried fungus expands greatly in volume.

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.	Fuzzy melon (節瓜, zit3 gwaa1), quartered and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
6 oz.	170 g.	One package fresh cloud ear fungus (雲耳, wan4 ji5)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
3	3	Red chili peppers (紅番椒, hung4 faan1 ziu1), to taste and cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
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
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Black vinegar (黑米醋, hak1 mai5 cou3)
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)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan



Chinkiang Black Vinegar
(黑米醋, hak¹ mai⁵ cou³)

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. Wet with water and add baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 15 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. Wash the fuzzy melon, rubbing off the fuzz with your hands under running water, then quarter lengthwise, and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
4. Open the cloud ear package and wash. If fresh cloud ear fungus is not available, rehydrated dried fungus may be substituted.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
6. Wash and cut the red chili peppers into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces. Put the red chilies into a small bowl.
7. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into the bowl with the red chilies.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the black vinegar, 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 and 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.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the cloud ear fungus. Stir fry the fungus and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the ginger, garlic, and red chili peppers. Quickly stir fry the ginger, garlic, and red chili peppers until fragrant before adding more oil and then the fuzzy melon. Stir fry the fuzzy melon, and then add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok. Stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some liquid (stock or water) to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.