Snowflake Chicken Foam
Resembling fluffy clouds of fresh snow with a soft, silky texture, this is a classic Sichuan dish famed for letting diners "taste the chicken without seeing a single piece."
Ingredients
Chicken breast (sinew removed, pounded into paste)
150 g
Cooked ham, finely chopped (sprinkled over the finished dish)
31 g
Egg white (beaten into stiff foam)
50 g
Fresh stock (cold, used to loosen the chicken paste)
350 g
Wet starch slurry (lump form)
50 g
Salt
to taste
Lard
50 g
White pepper
1 g
MSG
0.5 g
Instructions
1
Making the chicken paste
Remove the sinews from the chicken breast, then pound the meat into a fine paste using the back of a knife, picking out any remaining strands of connective tissue. Transfer the paste to a bowl and first loosen it with the cold fresh stock. Add the wet starch slurry, salt, MSG, and white pepper, and mix until evenly combined. Finally fold in the egg white beaten into stiff foam until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
2
Stir-frying
Place a wok over high heat, add the lard, and heat to about 180°C. Pour in the chicken mixture and stir-fry until just cooked through. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle the finely chopped cooked ham over the top before serving.
