Braised Chicken Crisp

Name: Braised Chicken Crisp
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 750 g Young chicken breast (cut into 2 mm cubes); 25 g Sea cucumber (cut into 2 mm cubes); 15 g Winter bamboo shoots (cut into 2 mm cubes); 10 g Cooked yellow cabbage hearts (squeezed dry and diced); 10 g Cattail heads (squeezed dry and diced); 1 Egg (about 50 g, made into egg yolk paste); 1000 g Peanut oil (plus an additional 100 g for blooming aromatics); 10 g Scallions (minced); 10 g Ginger (minced); 10 g Soy sauce; 4 g Fine salt; 15 g Sweet bean paste; 10 g Shaoxing wine; 1 g MSG; 25 g Sichuan pepper oil; 100 g Rendered chicken fat

Shandong-style Crispy Braised Chicken with a deep soy-brown color, a savory-salty aromatic flavor, and a tender, soft texture.

1h 5m

Easy

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Ingredients

Young chicken breast (cut into 2 mm cubes) 750 g

Sea cucumber (cut into 2 mm cubes) 25 g

Winter bamboo shoots (cut into 2 mm cubes) 15 g

Cooked yellow cabbage hearts (squeezed dry and diced) 10 g

Cattail heads (squeezed dry and diced) 10 g

Egg (about 50 g, made into egg yolk paste) 1

Peanut oil (plus an additional 100 g for blooming aromatics) 1000 g

Scallions (minced) 10 g

Ginger (minced) 10 g

Soy sauce 10 g

Fine salt 4 g

Sweet bean paste 15 g

Shaoxing wine 10 g

MSG 1 g

Sichuan pepper oil 25 g

Rendered chicken fat 100 g

Instructions

Prep and Marinate

Cut the young chicken breast into 2 mm cubes and place in a bowl. Add the minced scallions, minced ginger, soy sauce, sweet bean paste, Shaoxing wine, MSG, and fine salt, then mix well and let marinate. Cut the sea cucumber and winter bamboo shoots into 2 mm cubes. Squeeze the cooked yellow cabbage hearts and cattail heads to remove excess moisture and dice them, then add everything to the bowl with the chicken.

Form and Deep-Fry

Add the red hard egg paste, mix well, and shape the mixture into spindle-shaped balls. Place them on a plate and coat each one evenly with egg yolk paste. Lower them into oil heated to about 75 °C (roughly low-medium heat) and turn gently with a small spatula. When they turn a jujube-pit red color, remove and drain the oil — these are the chicken crisps.

Braise

Place a wok over medium heat, add the peanut oil along with minced scallions and minced ginger to bloom the aromatics, then add the soy sauce, chicken broth, and fine salt. Once it comes to a boil, add the chicken crisps; when it returns to a boil, move to low heat, cover, and simmer-braise until it has reduced to half. Remove from the heat, take out the chicken crisps and place them in a bowl, steam over boiling water for 15 minutes, then take out and invert onto a large soup plate.

Thicken and Sauce

Strain out the braising liquid and thicken with wet cornstarch to make a light glaze. Stir in the Shaoxing wine, MSG, soy sauce, and Sichuan pepper oil, drizzle with the rendered chicken fat, and pour the sauce over the chicken crisps. Serve immediately.