Chicken braised in black bean garlic sauce
Velveting the chicken transforms an ordinary chicken dish into restaurant quality fare. Chicken thigh fillet, skin on, is preferred here at home. If substituting breast meat, skinless or skin on, shorten the braising time to five minutes or less to avoid overcooking.Enjoy this dish with hot rice.
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.