Sweet Ginger Chicken
Sep 13th, 2007 by heidi
Sweet Ginger Chicken, from Ken Hom’s Quick Wok
This is a really rich, wonderful recipe–it’s almost like a Chinese “teriyaki” with that lovely combination of sweet/salty. It says the recipe serves four–I think it’s more like three servings.
Marinade:
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry — I use dry sherry and it’s fine
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
450g (1 lb) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and freshly ground black ppper, to taste
150ml (5 fl oz) home-made chicken stock or quality store-bought fresh stock — this works out to about 5/8 cup–it’s not exact
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1. Cut the chicken into 5cm (2 in) chunks and place in a large bowl. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade. Pour over the chicken and stir well to ensure all the pieces are thoroughly coated. Marinate for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Drain, discarding the marinade. Place the chicken pieces on a large baking tray.
2. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F
3. In a small bowl, combine the groundnut and sesame oils. Pour over the chicken pieces and cook in the over for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain off all the fat, and rest on kitchen paper (paper towels).
4. Heat a wok over high heat until it is hot. Add the ginger and stir-fry in the dry wok until it is crispy; this will take about 1 minute.
5. Then add the soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and stock, and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute. Reduce the heat, cover the wok, and simmer for 8 minutes.
6. Remove the lid, turn the heat up to high, and reduce the sauce by about half, stirring occasionally.
7. When the sauce has been reduced, add the rice wine/sherry and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes.
8. Now add the chicken and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until it is hot.
9. Turn onto a warm platter, garnish with the spring onions, and serve at once.
