Lemon Black Bean Sauce Green String Bean Fish Tofu Chicken (檸豆豉青豆角魚豆腐鷄, Ning4 Dau6 Si6 Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Jyu4 Dau6 Fu6 Gai1)

Lemon and black bean sauce is a tasty combination and is a nice change from just using black bean sauce in a stir fry dish. This combination has great memories for me since it was used in one of the first dishes I ever learned how to make, which resulted in this recipe: Steamed Lemon Chicken and Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce (豆豉檸蒸蝦鷄, Dau⁶ Si⁶ Ning⁴ Zing¹ Haa¹ Gai¹). I used this flavor combination with another combination commonly used in Chinese cooking – meat and seafood - which in this case is chicken and fish tofu. Fish tofu can be found (usually frozen) at your local Asian market. Regular (firm) tofu can be substituted if you’re not able to obtain fish tofu. Finally if you’re pressed for time, you can always use a prepared black bean sauce instead of using salted black beans, my favorite being the Lee Kum Kee brand Black Bean Garlic Sauce.

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 Tbs.	15 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.	454 g.	One package fish tofu (魚豆腐, jyu4 dau6 fu6)
1 lb.	500 g.	Green string beans (青豆角, ceng1 dau6 gok3), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) 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

½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), minced
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), minced
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6), crushed lightly
1	1	Juice from one lemon
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 Tbs.	15 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
		Lemon reamer
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen fish tofu, place the fish tofu in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight. Take the fish tofu out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
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 and place into a bowl. Add baking soda to the bowl and fill with cold water to cover the chicken. Mix the chicken in the baking soda solution, allow to tenderize for at least 15 minutes, and then drain and wash the 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.
4. Wash and cut the green string beans into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
6. Wash the salted black beans and lightly crush them in a small bowl. Mince the ginger and garlic, add them to the bowl with the black beans, and mix together.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: Use a lemon reamer to juice the lemon, and then add the 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 fish tofu. Stir fry the fish tofu and then transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the green string beans. Stir fry to brown the green string beans. Add the bowl with the black bean, ginger, and garlic mixture to the wok, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the green onions and 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 Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶) or steamed rice.