Black Bean Sauce Green String Bean Chicken with Fish Maw (豆豉青豆角魚肚鷄, Dau6 Si6 Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Jyu4 Tou5 Gai1)

Black bean sauce is a common way to flavor chicken dishes. A standard dish found in many Chinese-American restaurants is black bean sauce green string bean chicken, which are commonly available ingredients. My version of this dish can be found here: Black Bean Garlic Sauce String Bean Chicken (蒜蓉豆豉青豆角雞, Syun³ Jung⁴ Dau⁶ Si⁶ Ceng¹ Dau⁶ Gok³ Gai¹). This version of the classic dish adds fish maw to make a common dish uncommon.

Fish maw is the bladder of the fish that controls buoyancy. Fish maw is one of those weird and wonderful special banquet ingredients (at least in my experience) that is served at auspicious events such as weddings and at Lunar New Year. Fish maw can be purchased at your local Asian market or herb specialty store. If you’re lucky enough to have an Asian herb store near you, it’s worth going in to see all the dried herbs and creatures that are sold at these stores. The herb stores also have the most variety of fish maw to buy and with the prices to match!

There are two types of fish maw: dried and fried. For this dish, the fried version is used. If you purchase the dried version, like I did, there’s an extra step to deep fry the fish maw yourself. I actually shallow fried the fish maw, ladling hot oil over the fish maw (be careful when using this method). You can save a step and time by buying the fried version, but this will take more storage space than the dried version for any fish maw that you don’t use. The best description of fried fish maw is that it looks like chicharrón, which is fried pork skin. The fried fish maw should soak in cold water for at least an hour to soften it to a spongy texture and then cut into bite sized pieces. After soaking, fish maw has no inherent flavor (so it won’t smell fishy at all) and acquires the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 oz.	60 g.	Fish maw (魚肚, jyu4 tou5), fried and rehydrated
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.	500 g.	Green string beans (青豆角, ceng1 dau6 gok3), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
8	8	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6)
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
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
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions (One Day Before Cooking)

Dried Fish Maw (魚肚, jyu4 tou5)

Fried Fish Maw (魚肚, jyu4 tou5)

1. There are two types of fish maw: dried and fried. The type needed for this dish is the fried version. If the dried version was purchased, the fish maw should be first deep fried in a neutral oil at 350⁰ (175⁰C) until the fish maw puffs up. You can also shallow fry the fish maw by frequently ladling the hot oil over the fish maw (be careful when using this method) in a wok. If possible, purchase the fried version and save a step in making this dish. The fried fish maw can be stored in a covered container at room temperature.

Preparation Instructions (Cooking Day)

1. 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.
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. Pour boiling water over the small dried whole Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and remove the stems. Cut the Shiitake mushrooms into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
4. Pour boiling water over the fried fish maw in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate for at least one hour. The fish maw will absorb the water, swell, and become spongy.
5. Wash and cut the green string beans into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
7. Wash and lightly crush the salted black beans in a small bowl. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press, put into the bowl with the salted black beans, and mix the ingredients together.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: 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 maw. Stir fry the fish maw and then transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the salted black bean mixture. Quickly stir fry the salted black bean mixture until it becomes fragrant. Add the green string beans to the wok and stir fry until browned. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
5. Add the green onions and sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid 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.