Black Bean Chili Sauce Sugar Snap Pea Chicken (黑豆辣椒蜜豆鷄, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Mat6 Dau6 Gai1)

Black bean sauce and chicken are one of my favorite flavor combinations. In this case I used a prepared black bean sauce with chili oil made by Laoganma. If you don’t want a spicy dish, I would substitute another prepared sauce, Black Bean Garlic Sauce, made by Lee Kum Kee. My other favorite flavor combination with chicken is mushrooms. Straw mushrooms were the choice for this dish, but it could have easily been Shiitake mushrooms. The previous published Black Bean Chili Sauce Snow Pea Chicken (黑豆辣椒荷蘭豆鷄, Hak¹ Dau⁶ Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Ho⁴ Laan⁴ Dau⁶ Gai¹) recipe is very similar to this dish, and is just as tasty.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	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 lb.	500 g.	Sugar snap peas (蜜豆, mat6 dau6)
7.4 oz.	210 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can peeled straw mushrooms (草菇, cou2 gu1), drained
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 m.) pieces on the diagonal
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.	Laoganma brand Black Bean Chili Sauce (黑豆辣椒油, hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4) 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)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Laoganma Brand Black Bean Chili Sauce
(黑豆辣椒油, hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4)

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any bones and excess fat. 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 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 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.
3. Wash and remove the string from the sugar snap peas by grasping each sugar snap pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the sugar snap pea with the other.
4. Open and drain the liquid from the can with the straw mushrooms.
5. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
6. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand Black Bean Chili Sauce 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 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. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the straw mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the sugar snap peas. Stir fry the sugar snap peas to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic mixture becomes fragrant. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and 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.