ASPARAGUS AND CHICKEN IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE
2 Chicken thighs
12 medium Asparagus spears
3 tablespoons Peanut or corn oil
—–MARINADE—–
1 tablespoon Dry sherry
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
2 teaspoons Thin soy sauce
1 pinch Sugar
—–SAUCE—–
2 teaspoons Fermented black beans
3 Cloves garlic — minced
1/2 teaspoon Brown sugar
2 teaspoons Black soy sauce
3/4 cup Chicken stock
Cornstarch paste
Marinating: With sharp paring knife, scrape chicken meat from thigh; slice into thin strips across the grain. (Breast meat is not preferred for this dish, as meat is too dry and spongy.) Combine sherry, soy, cornstarch and sugar in bowl; massage liquid into meat with your fingers. Marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
Preparation: Wash asparagus; peel tough white outer skin off ends; slice on diagonal in 2 1/2″ sections. Rinse fermented black beans. In bowl, combine and mash black beans and garlic, brown sugar, black soy sauce and chicken stock; stir; reserve for 15 minutes.
Stir Frying: Add 2/3 of oil to hot wok; when oil is very hot, add chicken. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes on high heat - or until chicken begins to shrink and firm up. Remove chicken to holding bowl.
Reheat wok to high, add remaining oil. When oil is hot, add black bean sauce. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add asparagus; mix with sauce. Stir sauce with asparagus. When sauce boils, add cooked chicken; toss to combine. Dribble in a little cornstarch paste if needed; cornstarch in chicken marinade might be enough. Toss ingredients until very little liquid remains and is reduced to glaze. Dish is ready when asparagus brightens. If you still have too much liquid, remove ingredients, continue to reduce sauce, then return ingredients to coat them with sauce. Serve in individual portions.
Asparagus and sesame chicken soup
2 lbs Chicken
2 c Warm water
3 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Sugar
6 Slices ginger root
1/2 c Button mushrooms, canned
1/2 c Medium sherry
8 Fresh asparagus spears
1/2 tsp Salt
Wash chicken, remove fat pockets, pat dry, and chop into bite-size pieces. NOTE: if tempted to use breast Meat without bones, please don’t; bones add to body and flavor of Soup.
Peel and slice ginger root. Wash and cut asparagus into 2″ sections. Braising: Heat wok to medium Hot. Add sesame oil. Start braising chicken a few pieces at a time when oil begins to smell. Sesame oil will burn at lower temperature than other cooking oils, so avoid Hot wok. After browning lightly, return chicken pieces to wok; add ginger slices, sherry and salt.
When sherry boils, add water and Sugar. Turn up heat, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add mushrooms and asparagus, simmer for another 15 minutes. Transfer to covered Soup tureen (or put plate on top of Soup bowl), place in steamer on low, and hold until ready to serve. You can make this Soup in large Sauce pan, if wok is needed for something else.