Chengtu Chicken

Are you in the mood for a change of pace? Perhaps another taste of the Far East will whet your appetite! If Szechuan cuisine suits your fancy, Chengtu Chicken is worth the time. On the side, consider Yaki Mushrooms, from Japan, and you’ll have a feast fit for a king, for company, and most definitely for your family!

This is not a hot dish, as Szechuan is known for, but it does have a kick for those who aren’t accustomed to much spice in their diet. If you’re one of those, on the other hand, who are looking for hot, double the hot bean sauce or Szechuan chili sauce, and it will probably fit your needs.

I’m going to do something a bit different this time, and offer the chicken recipe with breast meat to serve four, or the whole chicken to serve six to eight. My brother Gerard Petitte, who offered the Yaki Mushroom recipe, omitted the number of servings for this dish; but on the side of Chengtu Chicken, one pound of mushrooms should easily serve 8. Thanks to Jerry (Gerard) for his contribution toward this issue of Ethnic Inexpensively. I hope you’ll enjoy this special tastebud treat.

Chengtu Chicken

Serving 4
2/3 lb boned, skinned chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Serving 6-8
1 whole chicken, boned, skinned, with wings sectioned into three
segments, and cut into bite-sized pieces

Marinade:
Serving 4
1 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp Superior soy sauce
1 egg white
Serving 6-8
1 Tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
1.5 – 2 Tbsp Superior soy sauce
1 egg white

1. Mix chicken pieces with marinade ingredients, and set aside 20 minutes.
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2. Blend Seasoning sauce ingredients in separate bowl and set aside:
Serving 4
1 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp Superior soy sauce
1.5 tsp sugar
1 tsp rice or white vinegar
2 Tbsp chicken broth
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp cornstarch blended with 2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper (salt can be garlic salt)

Serving 6-8
1 Tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
1.5 – 2 Tbsp Superior soy sauce
1.5 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp rice or white vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch blended with 4 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper (salt can be garlic salt)
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In still another container (a cup size will do), blend the following according
to servings:

Serving 4
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger root
1 Tbsp chopped fresh garlic
1 Tbsp chopped fresh green onion
1 Tbsp hot bean sauce or 1 Tbsp washed, salted preserved black
beans and 1 tsp Szechuan chili garlic sauce

Serving 6-8
1.5 2 tsp chopped fresh ginger root
1.5 – 2 Tbsp chopped fresh garlic
1.5 – 2 Tbsp chopped fresh green onion
2 Tbsp hot bean sauce or 2 Tbsp washed, salted preserved black
beans and 2 tsp Szechuan chili garlic sauce
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3. If you’re using the wings in this dish, cook the wings about 10 minutes
before adding the rest of the chicken. Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in the wok
over medium heat, and stir fry the wings. When they are golden on each side and
appear done, add the rest of the chicken pieces and stir fry, about 1 minute, if
breast meat only, and about 5 minutes, if you’re using the entire chicken. When
the chicken pieces are fully cooked, remove them from the
oil.

4. Add spinach to hot oil according to servings noted below, and stir fry. If
fresh, the spinach will take about 3 minutes. If you use frozen spinach, you
will need to work to loosen the spinach with a fork while it’s cooking, but this
should not take more than 8 minutes. You still want to retain the fresh taste
and will need to avoid overcooking it.

Serving 4
2/3 lb fresh spinach or 1 package frozen (fresh is, of
course, better, but in a pinch, frozen will work)

Serving 6-8
1.5 lb fresh spinach or 2 packages frozen (as explained
above, frozen will work in a pinch)
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Serving 4
1 tsp sesame oil

Serving 6-8
1.5 – 2 tsp sesame oil
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5. Remove spinach from wok, and arrange in a circle on a serving platter.
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6. Add ginger root-garlic-green onion-hot bean sauce mixture to oil in wok.
Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to wok, if you feel it needs to be added. Stir-fry
until fragrant, about 1 minute.

7. Return cooked chicken to wok, and add seasoning sauce, mixing well.
Stir-fry until sauce begins to thicken. Add sesame oil, mix quickly, and place
finished chicken with sauce in the center of the spinach ring on the platter.

8. Serve with white rice.

Yaki Mushrooms
1 pound of fresh mushrooms, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
cooking oil.

1. Pour cooking oil on a paper towel and coat the inside of a frying pan
2. Heat frying pan over a moderate heat
3. Add soy sauce, sesame oil , and chopped garlic.
4. Stir/mix for a few seconds.
5. Add mushrooms and saute until finished
6. Serve.

And what better to top a feast like this than a bowl of cool and refreshing
orange wedges? Till next time, a hearty bon appetit!

©2004 Michelle Young
Author of “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: Meeting the Challenge of Our Multicultural America & Beyond” (Caddo Gap Press, 1996)
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / liumeili