Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

Two of my most favorite Asian ingredients are black bean sauce and sesame oil! The flavors are comforting to me. I perused through the freezer and discovered that I had set aside some cut up chicken thighs, and it came to me to make this dish.

Ingredients
1/2 # boneless chicken thighs, cut up in chunks
3 TBS Sherry
dash of salt
2 tsp cornstarch
2 TBS water
1/3, + 3 TBS cup of low sodium chicken broth
2 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS black bean sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
3 TBS peanut oil
3 slices of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups thickly sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen peas

Take the chicken and in a bowl combine with 1 TBS sherry and the dash of salt.

Chicken, salt and sherry

Set aside. Next combine the cornstarch with the water, then add 1/3 cup of chicken broth, remaining sherry, soy sauce along with the black bean sauce and sesame oil.

Cornstarch mixture

Set aside. Add 2 TBS peanut oil to your wok and heat until hot.

Oil is hot in the wok

Add the chicken

Chicken starts to cook

and stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink.

Chicken is cooked

Remove this from the wok. Add remaining peanut oil and heat until it is hot. While this is heating up, re-stir the cornstarch mixture so that it is ready to use.

Re-stir the cornstarch mixture

When the oil is hot add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for about one minute.

Garlic and ginger being stir fried

Add in the mushrooms and peas and stir fry for about one minute

Add the mushrooms and peas

and then add the remaining chicken broth.

Add the remaining broth

Next add in the cornstarch mixture slowly.

Add the cornstarch mixture

Add back the chicken and heat through.

Let the liquid thicken by cooking

The sauce thickens

Serve this over steaming hot jasmine rice.

Dinner is served!

I hope that you enjoy the subtle, savory flavors of this dish!

Savor the flavors and enjoy!

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Hot Sour Soup for a Cold Sweet Night

We had snow for most of the morning yesterday. Not enough for a snow day. Where I live in the Sierra Foothills snowplows are not in the mix here. It is too hard to get the equipment to where I live. With the extreme cold yesterday, high temp of 39 degrees and wind chill into the 20’s for some part of the day, I thought about how we could warm up inside…Hot Sour Soup came to mind. It takes a bit of prep work, but well worth it.

Ingredients
2 lean pork loin chops, boned
3 slices of fresh ginger root
5 dried shitake mushrooms, re-hydrated
2 pieces of wood ears (a black fungus), re-hydrated
1 extra firm tofu
1/4 cup of bamboo shoots
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp. chili oil
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 TBS cornstarch
3 TBS water
8 cups of chicken broth
2 green onions

We are going to get all the ingredients ready first. Once these are all ready to go, making the soup takes no time at all!

Getting it all together

First, cut the pork into thin slices,

Slice the pork into thin strips

and then those slices, you cut into thirds.

Then cut each slice into three strips

Slice the fresh ginger into 3 slices and trim off the skin. Next take the dried shitake mushrooms and the wood ears

Place shitake mushrooms and wood ears into a bowl and soak in hot water to soften

and stick them in a bowl of hot water. Put something on them to hold them down in the water to soften. Next cut the tofu into slices

Slice one cube of tofu into strips

and then those slices into thirds.

Then cut the tofu slices into thirds

Do the same with the bamboo shoots.

Cut the bamboo shoots into thirds

Take the next seven ingredients and combine them into the measuring cup and stir to combine. Beat your eggs lightly and set aside. Then combine the cornstarch with the water in a separate bowl and stir to combine and set aside. Cut the green onions into little slices to top the soup with, and set aside.

Now take the broth and add to your soup pot. Bring this to a boil. Add the pork, ginger, shitake mushrooms and wood ears to the pot.

Broth with pork, mushrooms and wood ears

Cook for about two minutes. Remove the ginger. Then add the tofu and the bamboo shoots and stir. Then add measuring cup of ingredients.

Add next 7 ingredients

Combine well. Next, re-stir the cornstarch with water. It will feel hard at first, but it will turn back to liquid. Slowly stirring, and I mean slowly, add this to your pot. If you add this too quickly it will form one big glob in your pot – this happened to me the first time I made this! Not pretty! Stir well as you add this and then bring the pot to a boil.

The soup after adding the cornstarch mixture

Turn down to a simmer and let this cook for a bit until the liquid in the soup becomes somewhat clear. Turn the heat off, and while stirring the soup add the eggs. Serve in a soup bowl and top with the sliced green onions.

Dinner is served!

Enjoy the heat of the heat of this soup along with the sour!

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Wok This Way!

Last night I pulled out the wok and made my version of Chicken Chow Mein. It takes a bit of time to put together but it is well worth it!

Ingredients
1 Bok Choy
1 Napa Cabbage
1 Carrot
8 Asparagus
8-10 Green Beans
1/2 Can of Bamboo Shoots
1/2 Can of Sliced Water Chestnuts
1 Broccoli Crown
6 Dried Shitake Mushrooms
4 Cloves of Garlic
6 Boneless Chicken Thighs
8 Oz. Chinese Noodles
Rice Wine
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Peanut Oil
1/4 cup of water
Dash of Salt
3 Spring Onion

Start with the Shitake mushrooms. To rehydrate these, place them in a bowl and cover with hot water.

Rehydrate the Shitake Mushrooms

I cut up the vegetables and separate them into two batches. The Bok Choy and Napa cabbage in one; the carrots, asparagus, green beans, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, broccoli and mushrooms in the other. The first cooks quicker than the second.

Napa Cabbage and Bok Choy prepped

Prepped veges

Then I cut up the chicken into small chunks. Add a glug of rice wine.

Cut up Chicken Mixed with Rice Wine

Chop up the garlic, and put into a small bowl. Slice up the spring onion and put into another small bowl. Set aside.

Spring Onion and Finely Chopped Garlic

Prepare the noodles according to the package directions. Add soy sauce to your liking and a good dose of the sesame oil and combine. Set aside.

Chinese Noodles

Add one TBS. peanut oil to your wok and heat. Then toss in the Bok Choy and the Napa Cabbage. Stir fry until they just start to wilt.

Stir Fry the Bok Choy and Napa Cabbage

Then remove to a bowl. Add another TBS of peanut oil to wok and heat again. Add in prepped veges and start to stir fry. Then add the water and a dash of salt. Cook until just crisp tender.

Sitr Fry the Vege Mix

Remove to the bowl with the cabbage and bok choy. Heat a TBS of peanut oil to hot and then add the garlic. Stir fry this until the aroma comes up and then add the chicken.

Stir Fry the Chicken

Cook until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Then add to the bowl with the vegetables.

Everything is Cooked and Ready to Use

Now add 3 TBS of peanut oil to the wok and heat. When hot add the noodles and stir fry for about one minute. Then add the bowl of chicken and vegetables and the spring onion and stir fry to combine and all is heated through, then serve it up!

Dinner is Ready!

I make a lot of this so that I have leftovers for lunch at work. It is really good cold too! I hope that you enjoy this as much as my husband and I do!

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