Bean Sauce Asparagus Chicken (豆瓣醬雞蘆筍雞, Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Whenever I use asparagus in a dish, I usually use the thick stemmed version. However, for this recipe, I chose to use thin stemmed asparagus to match the thickness of the shredded tofu and sliced Shiitake mushrooms. The dish would have tasted the same if the thick stemmed asparagus was used, but using the thin stemmed makes the dish more visually appealing.

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.	Asparagus (蘆筍, lou4 seon2), 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
8 oz.	227 g.	One package shredded spice tofu (五香豆腐絲, ng5 hoeng1 dau6 fu6 si1)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1-2	1-2	Fresh red chili peppers (紅番椒, hung4 faan1 ziu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces; optional and to taste
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.	Lian How brand Bean Sauce (豆瓣醬, dau6 faan6 zoeng3) 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)
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

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions

Lian How Brand Bean Sauce
(豆瓣醬, dau6 faan6 zoeng3)

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. Wash and cut the asparagus into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
5. Open the package and drain the liquid from the shredded spice tofu.
6. Wash and cut the fresh red chili peppers into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Using the red chili peppers is optional and the amount can be increased or decreased according to your taste.
7. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
8. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
9. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lian How brand Bean 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 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. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
2. 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.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the shredded spice tofu. Stir fry the tofu and then transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the red chili peppers. Stir fry the chili peppers until brown before adding the asparagus. Stir fry to brown the asparagus. Add the bowl with the 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.
5. Add the 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.