Chestnut Braised Spring Chicken
A classic home-style dish from western Yunnan, featuring a deep red hue, tender young chicken, sweet glutinous chestnuts, and a rich, savory, mellow flavor.
Ingredients
spring chicken (remove feet and claws, cut into 4cm cubes)
1
ginger (sliced)
15 g
chestnuts (score with a knife, peel shell and outer skin after roasting)
200 g
sugar
10 g
fine salt
12 g
Shaoxing rice wine
10 g
soy sauce
30 g
wet starch
10 g
sweet soy sauce
20 g
chicken stock
1000 g
scallion (cut into 3cm segments)
15 g
rendered lard
1000 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Slaughter the chicken, remove feathers and clean, discard internal organs, remove feet and claws, cut into 4cm cubes. Score chestnuts with a cross-shaped cut, place in an oven preheated to 150°C, roast for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, peel off shells and outer skin. Wash scallions and ginger, cut scallions into 3cm segments, slice ginger.
2
Step 2
Place a wok over high heat, add lard, heat until 60% hot, add chestnuts and fry for 1 minute, then pour into a colander to drain excess oil. Leave 100g of base oil in the wok, add scallions, ginger and Shaoxing rice wine, stir-fry until fragrant, add chicken pieces, stir-fry to remove excess moisture, add sweet soy sauce, regular soy sauce, salt, sugar and chicken stock. Once boiling, cover with a lid, turn to low heat and simmer for 40 minutes, then add chestnuts and simmer for another 20 minutes. Before serving, turn to high heat to reduce the sauce, thicken with wet starch, drizzle with clear oil, then plate and serve.
