228. Chinese Soy Chicken

Quite a bit of the ingredients that make up this wonderful dish made me raise an eyebrow, and seemed, quite frankly, weird. Ketchup? Sugar? Vinegar?
Well, yes.
Once tasted, all doubts dissolve and a certain joy of good food takes over.

The vegetables included are just a suggestion, you may vary according to what you like or have on hand.
Asparagus, snow peas, cauliflower florettes, carrots, and so much more may be used as well.
Chicken thigh meat may be used with or instead of the breasts without a problem.
As with all stir-fries, it is best to have all the ingredients prepared before starting to cook.
This is a great dish for a dinner party, served alongside some Chinese fried rice and perhaps some springrolls.
Note that the chicken requires marination overnight, so plan ahead.

Ingredients:

6 chicken breast halves
1 cup cornflour
1 cup milk
1 egg

1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 broccoli, florettes
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
2 onions
1 handful dried shitake mushroom
4 cloves garlic
1 knob ginger
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Method:

Slice the chicken breasts.
In a rimmed dish, whisk together the cup of milk, cup of cornstarch, and egg until smooth.
Mix in the chicen breast slices and toss to coat.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the vegetables.
Re-hydrate the dried shitake mushrooms by covering them in boiled water for 20 minutes.
Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid (about a cup).
Slice the mushroom; slice the red and green capsicums; cut the onions into thin wings; cut the broccoli into small florettes; peel and thinly slice the garlic; peel and chop the ginger into matchsticks.

Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, water, sugar, vinegar, and ketchup in a pot.
Bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes.
Turn off heat and set aside.

Saute the chicken pieces in a tablespoon of oil until golden (in batches).
Remove and set aside.
In the same pot (or wok), saute the vegetables in another tablespoon of oil until crispy-tender.
Return the chicken, and begin adding the sauce ladle by ladle.
Dissolve two tablespoons of cornstarch in the reserved mushroom liquid, add to the chicken and vegetables to thicken up the sauce.

Serve hot alongside some Chinese fried rice and crispy fried springrolls.

 صحة و عافية