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–+ servings

Braised Chicken with Chestnuts

Use chicken that's good for braising for this recipe. When the dish is done, it should be fairly dry. The sugary liquid released by chestnuts should be thick enough to stick to the chicken.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4
Calories 180 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 medium-size Chinese dried mushrooms
  • 16 chestnuts without shells
  • 300 g chicken
  • 10 g ginger, half thumb size
  • 10 g spring onions
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 40 g mild leek
  • 10 g coriander
  • 1 bird's eye chilli halve lengthwise
  • 2 tsp white sesame oil or corn oil
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 25 g oyster sauce, 2 tbsp rounded
  • 1 tsp fermented soya beans, mashed
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Instructions
 

  • Rinse mushrooms and snip off stems with scissors. Set stems aside. Soak mushroom caps in enough warm water to cover by 3cm. When ready to stir-fry, squeeze mushroom caps dry, reserving liquid. Cut each piece into 2.
    4 medium-size Chinese dried mushrooms
  • Add boiling water to chestnuts, enough to cover by 2-3 cm. Steep 1 minute.
    16 chestnuts without shells
  • Remove 3-4 chestnuts from hot water. Place between 2 paper towels. Rub to remove peel. Soak in water to prevent discolouring. Peel rest of chestnuts in the same way.
  • Cut each chestnut into 2 pieces, trimming parts that are bad. Rinse thoroughly.
  • Place chestnuts in a small pot. Add mushroom stems, and enough water to cover by 2-3 cm. Bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Chestnuts should now be cooked but not yet soft. Discard mushroom stems. Set chestnuts and cooking liquid aside.
  • Rinse chicken and drain. Chop bite-size. Marinate with wine, oyster sauce, fermented soya beans, and sugar for about 10 minutes.
    300 g chicken, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 25 g oyster sauce, 2 tbsp rounded, 1 tsp fermented soya beans, mashed, 1 tsp sugar
  • Prep these while chicken is marinating: Ginger – peel, rinse, slice thinly. Spring onions – rinse, cut 7-8 cm long. Garlic – peel, halve. Leeks – wash, halve lengthwise, cut crosswise 7-8 cm (3 inches) long. Coriander – rinse, cut 7-8 cm (3 inches) long. Chilli – rinse, halve lengthwise.
    10 g ginger, half thumb size, 10 g spring onions, 4 cloves garlic, 40 g mild leek, 10 g coriander, 1 bird's eye chilli
  • In a very hot wok, heat white sesame oil or corn oil till just smoking. Add ginger and stir-fry over high heat till lightly golden. Add garlic, mushroom, leek and white part of spring onions. Stir-fry till garlic and mushrooms are lightly golden. Add chicken. Stir-fry till heated through and wok is screaming hot. Drizzle with Shaoxing wine. Stir through.
    2 tsp white sesame oil or corn oil, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • Add mushroom water. Stir to deglaze wok. Add chestnuts plus liquid. Top up with water to almost cover everything in the wok. Tuck green part of green onions, coriander and chilli around wok. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer gently till chicken and chestnuts are tender. This should take about 30 minutes, stirring once midway.
  • When chicken and chestnuts are tender, check that sauce is just thick enough to coat chicken and chestnuts. If too watery, increase heat to high and reduce sauce. If too thick, drizzle with 1-2 tbsp water, then stir and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning. Chestnuts should be slightly sweet. Add a bit more sugar if necessary. Turn off heat.
  • Cover and wait 5-10 minutes. This allows flavours to develop and the meat to absorb some liquid. Plate and serve with steamed rice.