Sesame Oil Chicken
Sesame Oil Chicken is one of my favourite dishes. It's fragrant because of the copious lashings of sesame oil, and warming because of the liberal additions of ginger, which makes it so comforting during this current rainy monsoon season.
It's also traditionally eaten by women, post-pregnancy during their "confinement period", to nourish their weakened constitutions and "dispel wind" from their weakened bodies from when they were "opened up" during childbirth.
I've reduced the amount of Chinese wine, purely as a matter of preference, but feel free to increase the amounts as you like it.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
10 pieces ginger, 2" x 1" and 0.5cm thick
1 tbsp ginger juice
6 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp thick black soy
3 tbsp light soy
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
3 cups water
Optional: 10 dried Chinese black mushrooms (rehydrated by soaking in hot water, with 1 cup mushroom water reserved for use later)
Directions:
1) Fry ginger in sesame oil until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2) Add chicken and fry till no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3) Add black and light soy, and oyster sauce.
4) Add mushrooms.
5) Add water, wine and ginger juice, and bring to a boil, before lowering to simmer to cook through, for a fall-off-the-bone texture, about 40 minutes.
6) For a thicker gravy, swirl in a tbsp of flour.
It's also traditionally eaten by women, post-pregnancy during their "confinement period", to nourish their weakened constitutions and "dispel wind" from their weakened bodies from when they were "opened up" during childbirth.
I've reduced the amount of Chinese wine, purely as a matter of preference, but feel free to increase the amounts as you like it.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
10 pieces ginger, 2" x 1" and 0.5cm thick
1 tbsp ginger juice
6 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp thick black soy
3 tbsp light soy
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
3 cups water
Optional: 10 dried Chinese black mushrooms (rehydrated by soaking in hot water, with 1 cup mushroom water reserved for use later)
Directions:
1) Fry ginger in sesame oil until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2) Add chicken and fry till no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3) Add black and light soy, and oyster sauce.
4) Add mushrooms.
5) Add water, wine and ginger juice, and bring to a boil, before lowering to simmer to cook through, for a fall-off-the-bone texture, about 40 minutes.
6) For a thicker gravy, swirl in a tbsp of flour.
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