Hunan Hot And Sour Chicken Food

HUNAN HOT AND SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sherry, salt and pepper. Add chicken and stir to coat, then stir in 1½ teaspoons of the oil and let stand for 15 minutes to marinate. Prepare cooking sauce by blending all ingredients in another bowl, set aside. Place a wok or wide frying pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When oil begins to heat, add garlic, ginger, and black beans. Stir once, then add chicken and stir-fry until chicken is opaque (about 3 minutes). Remove chicken from pan. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. When oil is hot, add green pepper, carrot and bamboo shoots. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add water and stir-fry for 1½ minutes. Return chicken to pan. Stir cooking sauce, add to pan, and cook, stirring, until sauce bubbles and thickens. If you like food that produces watery eyes and a burning mouth, pass a little bowl of hot pepper and black bean sauce.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP (BETTY FOO; HUNAN RESTAURANT)

Steps:

• Clean the dried day lilies, soak them in warm water for about 20 minutes.
• Cut off the hard, tough tip of the stem and then cut the day lilies in half lengthwise.
• Clean and soak the wood ear mushrooms in warm water for about 20 minutes, then cut into small pieces. To clean, just wipe with a damp cloth -- don't soak or wash!
• Bring the chicken broth to a boil and then add the pork (or vegetarian alternative -- see below), skimming the surface of any fat.
• Cook the pork for 3-4 minutes, until the broth comes to a boil again.
• Add the tofu, mushroom pieces, bamboo shoots, and day lilies.
• Let the pot return to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a low boil.
• Add the soy sauce, spices, vinegar, salt and sugar.
• Taste the soup, adjusting the vinegar (you may need to modify up or down by an ounce) for the "sour" and salt for balance.
• Mix the corn starch and water to create a paste for thickening.
• Add the corn starch mixture slowly, stirring constantly.
• Drizzle the beaten eggs in slowly while stirring, so that you get "strings" of egg.
• Turn off the heat.
• Presentation -- ladle the soup into bowls, then garnish with 1/2 tsp of scallion per bowl and a drizzle of sesame oil.
• Comments on ingredients & substitutions:.
• Dried lily pods and wood ears (also called "tree ears", "black fungus" or "Hu Bei") available in most oriental markets.
• Chicken stock -- use home made or a low sodium canned variety. For Vegetarians use a Vegetarian Chicken stock or a Vegetable Stock.
• Pork -- For kosher alternative, use shredded chicken or turkey; for vegetarian alternative, replace pork with a mix of fresh flavorful mushrooms, e.g., shiitake, oyster, or portobellos.
• Soy sauce -- Betty uses regular soy sauce -- if using a "lite soy" variety, you may have to adjust the amount of salt to taste.
• Vinegar -- the vinegar is the essence of the "sour" aspect of this soup, and distilled white vinegar gives you the strongest taste; rice vinegars, wine vinegars, apple cider vinegars, etc, will either be too dilute (not enough acidity) or add extraneous flavors.
• Garlic -- garlic powder is preferred in this recipe, but if you choose to use cloves, leave them whole, add them only to flavor the chicken broth and remove them before adding other ingredients.
• Sesame oil -- adds a shimmer and smoky flavor to the final product. Chinese sesame oil is typically from toasted seeds; Japanese is typically untoasted, so the flavor will be subtly different.

HUNAN-STYLE HOT AND SPICY CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix ginger slices, sherry vinegar and 2 tbsp soy sauce. Marinate chicken pieces for 30 minutes in soy sauce marinade.
• Grind Sichuan pepper to powder and add to mixing bowl. Mix in the chicken broth, 2 tbsp soy sauce, wine, sugar, salt and black pepper.
• Heat oil in a wok or heavy frying pan. Add sliced green onion and chili peppers and stir fry for one minute.
• Add soy marinade and chicken to scallions and hot pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes more.
• Add chicken broth mixture and mix well. Cook over medium-low heat until chicken pieces are fully cooked (8-10 minutes) stirring frequently. Add cornstarch to thicken. Serve with rice.

HUNAN HOT AND SOUR SOUP

Steps:

• Bring stock to a boil over medium-high heat in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan.
• Add garlic, ginger, black pepper, and tamari.
• Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.
• Add mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, carrots, peas and meat.
• Stir and let simmer 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Stir in vinegar, mirin and cornstarch mixture.
• Continue cooking until soup is thickened, about 1 minute.
• Add chile paste/sauce to taste.
• Remove soup from heat.
• Slowly pour in beaten egg and stir.
• Garnish with green onions or cilantro and serve immediately.

COLORFUL HOT AND SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Stir cornstarch into slightly beaten egg until well combined
• Add chicken pieces, stir to coat
• Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat until just below smoking
• Shallow-fry the coated chicken in several batches until golden brown, turning if necessary, then remove to drain on absorbent papers
• Leave about 2 tsp hot oil in the wok, stir fry ginger and chilli for 30sec, until fragrant
• Add onion slices, continue to saute another 1-2mins, until onions are soft
• Add garlic and stir fry for another minute
• Add the carrot matchsticks, continue to cook until they're semi-tender
• Stir in chicken pieces and saute for 1 minute
• Add in the sauce mixture, adding chicken stock/water when necessary, depending how much sauce you like
• Finally, add the green pepper and shitake mushrooms and cook for another minute
• If you feel that the sauce is too thick, add more stock or water; if too thin, thicken with cornstarch slurry (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 TB cold water)
• Garnish with fresh cilantro and/or sliced green onions before serving with jasmine rice