Chestnut Braised Chicken
A traditional dish from northeastern China, this seasonal specialty pairs tender, slow-braised chicken with the natural sweetness of chestnuts.
Ingredients
live hen or capon (slaughtered, plucked, eviscerated and cleaned)
1, approx 1500–2000 g
vegetable oil or rendered lard
100 g
fermented broad bean paste
25 g
old ginger
50 g
green onion
10 g
white sugar or rock sugar
25 g
Sichuan peppercorns
to taste
Shaoxing cooking wine
to taste
soy sauce
to taste
refined salt
a small amount
MSG (add when taking the pot off the heat)
to taste
star anise
to taste
chestnuts (add when the chicken is about 70% cooked, simmer together for 15 minutes)
to taste
Instructions
1
Ingredient preparation
Slaughter the chicken, remove feathers, eviscerate and wash clean. Cut off the chicken head, wings and feet at the shank, then split the chicken in half. Cut the chicken meat into 3cm long and 2cm wide chunks, and cut the chicken head, wings and feet into 3cm sections.
2
Stir-fry chicken pieces
Place a wok over high heat, add 100g vegetable oil and heat until hot. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry until the chicken meat firms up. Then add cooking wine, ginger pieces, fermented broad bean paste and Sichuan peppercorns, and continue stir-frying until the moisture evaporates and the aroma is released.
3
Braise
Add an appropriate amount of water, then add a small amount of salt, soy sauce, white sugar, star anise and other seasonings. Cover and simmer until the chicken is about 70% cooked, then add the chestnuts and continue to simmer together for about 15 minutes.
4
Finish and serve
Add green onion sections and MSG when taking the pot off the heat. The dish should have a small amount of sauce.
