Tasty, easy and fast cooking. Velveting the chicken takes an hour but the actual cooking takes no more than 15 minutes. Can the velveting part be skipped altogether? Well, you can skip it. But you won’t get the silky texture that gives the dish a restaurant quality appeal.
What is velveting?
It is a preparation method that involves marinating the chicken (or meat or seafood) with starch and liquid. The liquid can be the seasoning. The starch traps the moisture inside each piece of chicken so that even when cooked in ultra high heat, it stays divinely succulent.
In this recipe, the chicken was seasoned simply with salt and Chinese five-spice powder. Cornstarch was dissolved in Shao Xing rice wine, sesame seed oil was stirred in, and the mixture was poured over the chicken. With my fingertips, I massaged the chicken until every piece was coated with the starch solution. Then, I placed the chicken in a covered container and kept it in the fridge for an hour.
Oil was poured into a wok and heated, and the velveted chicken pieces were spread in the hot oil. Because they clamped together during velveting, I used a pair of kitchen tongs to separate them right in the wok. The chicken was stir fried until the surface was lightly browned before the sauce was poured in.
What is black bean garlic sauce?
It’s a combination of crushed fermented black beans and minced garlic. You can buy it in jars in most groceries that sell Chinese ingredients.
But black bean garlic sauce is just the primary ingredient for the sauce in which the velveted chicken was braised. Sweet chili sauce, oyster sauce, grated ginger and sesame seed oil were added.
Add water before braising
If you rely on the sauce alone to cook the chicken in, the liquid will dry out before the chicken is cooked through. So, water was poured into the wok before the braising began. By the time the water had evaporated, the sauce had thickened sufficiently to coat every piece of chicken. Garnished with toasted sesame seeds and snipped scallions, the dish was ready to serve. We had it with rice. Of course.
Chicken braised in black bean garlic sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
- 400 grams chicken thigh fillets (skin on) cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Shao Xing wine
Sauce
- 1 heaping teaspoon black beans and garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger with the juice
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seed oil
To cook and garnish
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 3 tablespoons sliced scallions
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Velvet the chicken
- Place the chicken in a mixing bowl, add salt and five-spice powder and mix well.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine, stir in sesame seed oil, pour over the chicken and mix thoroughly until the liquid is absorbed.
- Cover the chicken and leave in the fridge for an hour.
Make the sauce
- Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.
- Measure the sauce and prepare an equal amount of water.
Cook the chicken
- Heat the cooking oil in a wok and spread the chicken. Separate them with kitchen tongs or chopsticks. Cook over high heat, flipping occasionally, just until lightly browned.
- Pour in the sauce and water, and stir.
- Cook, uncovered, until the water has evaporated and the sauce has thickened.
Garnish and serve
- Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
- Serve with rice.
