Hibiscus Chicken Slices
A signature opening dish of traditional Hubei banquets, Furong Chicken Slices boasts a jade-white color, silky smooth texture, and fresh, savory flavor.
Ingredients
minced chicken
150 g
chicken stock
1500 g
egg whites
3
wet starch
300 g
tomato (peeled, quartered into lotus-petal shapes, seeds and pulp removed)
1
fine salt
25 g
small bok choy hearts (blanched)
4
lard (about 150 g actually used)
2000 g
scallion-ginger juice
50 g
MSG
20 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the Chicken Paste
Place the minced chicken in a bowl. Add 500 g of cold stock in three batches, stirring continuously as you add. Add the egg whites in three batches as well, then add 15 g of fine salt and 200 g of wet starch. Stir until the mixture becomes sticky and forms a thin paste. Peel the tomato, cut it into four wedges like lotus petals, and remove the seeds and pulp. Blanch the bok choy hearts.
2
Shaping in Oil
Place a wok over high heat and pour in the lard. Heat to about 30% hot (roughly 90°C). Add the seasoned chicken paste in three batches, pouring it slowly along the sides away from the flame. Slowly rotate the wok so the chicken paste cooks evenly into slices and floats to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to remove the slices and place them in a bowl of hot water to rinse off the fat, then transfer them to cold water to cool, and drain.
3
Finishing in Sauce
Place a wok over high heat, add the lard, then add the stock, scallion-ginger juice, MSG, and salt. When the soup comes to a boil, add the chicken slices, bok choy hearts, and tomato wedges. Thicken with a thin slurry, drizzle with lard, gently push to combine, and serve.
