Chinese Braised Chicken With Chestnuts Food

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CHESTNUT

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into small chunks and then cook in boiling water for around 30 seconds to remove the impurities. And then transfer out and drain.
• Marinate the chicken with around 2 tablespoons soy sauce for around 15 minutes. Drain before frying.
• Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a pan or wok until really hot. Add chicken chunks in. Stay for around 1 minute until brown on one side and fragrant. And then turn them over to fry the other side.
• Move them to one side of the wok; add garlic, ginger, scallion and red onion until aroma. Mix well. Pour around 2 cups of hot water to soak the chicken chunks completely. Slow the fire to simmer for around 10 minutes. Add all the other sauce ingredients except sesame oil
• Add chestnuts in and continue simmer until the chestnuts are well cooked (soft to your own preference). Turn up the fire to thicken the sauce. When the sauce is well thickened, add sesame oil. Transfer to serving plate and garnish with chopped green onion before serving.

CHICKEN WITH CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Stir together sugar, wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and water in a medium bowl, then set aside.
• Cut chicken through bones into 1-inch pieces with a cleaver. Add chicken to a 4-quart pot of boiling water and simmer briskly, uncovered, 5 minutes. Drain chicken in a colander and when cool enough to handle remove any skin, excess fat, and tiny bone shards.
• Heat vegetable oil in a wok over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then stir-fry ginger and garlic until golden, 1 to 2 minutes, and transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add half of chicken to wok and stir-fry until golden, about 2 minutes, then transfer to plate with ginger and garlic. Stir-fry remaining chicken with chestnuts until golden, about 2 minutes. Return chicken, ginger, and garlic from plate to wok, then add soy mixture. Cover wok and cook chicken over moderate heat until sauce is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Remove lid and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened and just coats chicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil. Serve sprinkled with scallion.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH SMOKED HAM, CHESTNUTS, AND GINGER

Steps:

• Marinate chicken 1 day ahead:
• Bring water to a simmer in a small saucepan, then stir in mushrooms and simmer 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then strain through a sieve into a large bowl. Discard stems, then chill mushroom caps, covered, until ready to braise chicken. Stir remaining marinade ingredients into mushroom liquid, then add chicken and marinate, chilled, stirring occasionally, 1 day.
• Brown chicken in 3 batches and make sauce:
• Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry (discard marinade).
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Just before browning each batch of chicken, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Brown, skin side down first, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon oil from skillet, then reduce heat to medium-low and sauté ginger, stirring, 1 minute (do not brown). Add white wine and Shaoxing and boil until reduced by three fourths, about 5 minutes. Add broth, 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, soy sauce, white pepper, and remaining 2 teaspoons kosher salt and bring to a simmer.
• Combine cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons cold water and whisk into sauce, then boil 1 minute.
• Braise chicken:
• Transfer chicken, skin side up, to a 6-to 8-quart heavy pot (place white meat on top). Add sauce, chestnuts, and reserved mushroom caps. Gently simmer, covered, until chicken is just cooked through, 15 to 25 minutes.
• Cut breasts in half and return to pot. Add ham. Gently simmer 3 minutes more.