Suzhou Braised Chicken Recipes

SZECHUAN BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Prepare vegetables, of your own choice, i.e. bok choy, bean sprouts, capsicum, onion, broccoli, asparagus, Chinese leaf, baby corn--a mixture is great. Add the chili, crushed, place to one side.
• Blanche asparagus and broccoli for 2 minutes then add to the other vegetables with the garlic and ginger.
• Toast Szechwan peppercorns in a small dry pan until fragrant, crush and add to the chicken with the five spice powder and enough oil to just coat. Marinade for half an hour,.
• In a cup place the stock, Soya sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and sherry, mixing the corn flour with enough water to mix when adding to the sauce.
• Heat wok and add half of the oil. Stir fry the vegetables and place in warm oven. Add remainder of the oil to wok and quickly stir fry the meat for just a minute or two; add the liquid and stir until it thickens.
• Toss the vegetables in and quickly stir.
• Serve separately with noodles of your choice.

EASY CHINESE SOY-BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Begin heating soy sauce and water over medium flame. Add ginger, sugar, cinnamon, and star anise.
• Bring mixture to simmer and add chicken. Reduce heat to very low and cover casserole dish/pot. Make sure heat is as low as can be without turning off; simmering soy sauce can easily become rapidly boiling soy sauce, which can easily become a big mess to clean up.
• Cook chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Cut one open to check for doneness. Ladle chicken from sauce mixture and serve as is. Or if you're handy with a cleaver, chop up those thighs into smaller pieces. Garnish with scallions.

SUZHOU BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Peel the sweet potato and roll-cut diagonally into 1 1/2 inch slices.
• Heat the oil in a wok or deep frypan to 375F or until a piece of scallion green or ginger sizzles noisily and browns quickly when tossed into the oil. Add the chicken and deep-fry for 2 min til golden brown. Remove the chicken to a sauce pan and add the rice wine and salt. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sugar, sweet potato and stock and continue simmering, until the chicken is tender.
• If too much liquid is left in the saucepan, reduce by boiling rapidly. Stir the dissolved cornstarch and add to the saucepan. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle with the sesame oil, and serve.