Chicken and Walnuts in Hot Bean Sauce

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Chicken and Walnuts in Hot Bean Sauce

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This recipe for stir-fried chicken with walnuts calls for two chili peppers combined with ground bean sauce and hence the name "in hot bean sauce" is used in the title. It is not one of those fiery dishes from Sichuan or Hunan and you can even exclude the chili peppers if you so desire (or increase the number).

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In addition to cubes of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, it contains Chinese mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and red bell pepper and is topped with toasted walnuts.

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The sauce is not just seasoned with ground bean sauce and chili peppers, but it also contains hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sesame seed oil. I don’t recall ever seeing this combination in any of the Chinese restaurants that I have visited.

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Difficulty:

Easy

Preparation Time:

30 Minutes

Cooking Time:

30 Minutes

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Ingredients:

¼ Cup of Walnuts (rinse in hot water and dry on paper towels)

1 Cup of Oil for deep frying the walnuts

1 Slice of Ginger Root (the size of a quarter)

1 Large Garlic Clove (crushed and peeled)

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½ Cup Water Chestnuts (quartered)

½ Cup Bamboo Shoots (cut into 1/3 inch cubes)

½ Red Bell Pepper (cut into ½ inch squares)

4 Chinese Large Dried Mushrooms (soak in hot water, remove the stems and cut into ½ inch squares)

2 Scallions (cut into pea sized pieces including the green part)

2 Dried Chili Peppers (cut or tear into small pieces)

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Chicken Mixture:

1 Whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (2 halves) cut into ½ inch cubes.

1 Teaspoon Cornstarch

1 Teaspoon Thin Soy Sauce

½ Egg White

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl.

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Sauce Mixture:

2 Tablespoons Ground Bean Sauce

1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce

1 Teaspoon Black Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Dry White Wine

½ Teaspoon Sugar

2 Teaspoons Sesame Seed Oil

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Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and deep-fry the walnut pieces until golden brown but. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
2. Transfer 4 tablespoons of the oil to a large frying pan (or wok).
3. Slightly brown the ginger and garlic and then discard them.
4. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the cubes turn white.
5. Remove the chicken cubes with a slotted spoon and stir-fry the chili peppers for 20 seconds.
6. Add the mushrooms and cook for 20 more seconds.
7. Then add the water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, peppers and scallions and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
8. Stir in the sauce mixture and return the chicken to the pan.
9. Cook until the sauce begins to bubble and then swirl in the sesame seed oil.
10. Place the mixture in a serving bowl and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

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