Stir Fried Chicken with Black Bean Sauce (豉汁干葱爆鸡球)
from http://omnivorescookbook.com/, Maggie Zhu

f you’re tired of using soy sauce to cook noodles and other dishes, give this sauce a try. The sauce uses fermented black beans to create a distinct savory flavor that goes great with black pepper. It’s a popular sauce and is usually used in Cantonese recipes to cook meat and seafood. It’s a great sauce for stir frying and steaming.

See recipe below for Ming Tsai's Chicken & Broccolini with Chinese Black Bean Sauce which he makes from his homemade Black Bean Sauce.

Marinade
1 (270 grams / 9 oz.) boneless chicken breast (or boneless chicken leg), cubed
1 tablespoon Japanese sake
2 teaspoons potato starch (or sub corn starch)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 tablespoon Japanese sake
1 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly grounded black pepper

Stir-fry
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 (200 grams / 7 oz.) big shallot (or onion), minced
(Optional) Green onion or cilantro for garnish

Combine chicken breast, Japanese sake, potato starch, and salt in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl.
Chop and prepare veggies and herbs.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot. Spread chicken in the skillet without overlapping. Let cook for 30 seconds without stirring. Separate the chicken with a spatula (it might stick together due to the potato starch). Cook until the bottom side turns slightly golden. Flip and stir chicken to cook other sides, until the surface is cooked but the inside is still a bit pink. Immediately transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and turn to medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and shallots. Cook until shallots begin to turn soft, 30 seconds. Add sauce. Give it a quick stir. Add chicken back into the skillet. Stir and cook until the sauce thickens, 1 minute. Immediately transfer everything to a plate.

Serve warm over steamed rice.

Serves 2

Chicken & Broccolini with Chinese Black Bean Sauce
from Ming Tsai

You can use any kind of vegetable but I like using broccolini because it takes so little time to cook. Baby bok choy, cut into quarters lengthwise, would be a great substitute.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or leg meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt to taste
2 bunches broccolini, trimmed; florets cut into 2-inch lengths and stalks cut 1/2 inch thick
2 to 3 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup Chinese Black Bean Sauce
Steamed medium-grain rice

Season the chicken with salt to taste and set aside.

Heat a wok or large saute pan over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil. When hot, add the broccolini. Sear, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Reduce heat, add a splash of water, cover and cook until crisp-tender, 2 minutes.

Remove the broccolini with any juices from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

Heat remaining 1-2 teaspoons oil (enough to cover bottom of pan liberally). When hot, add the chicken and stir-fry until well browned, 2-3 minutes. Stir in black bean sauce, broccolini and its juices, and enough water to moisten the sauce, about 1-2 tablespoons. Reduce heat and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center, another minute or two.

Serve immediately over the rice.

Serves 3 or 4

Per serving: 255 calories, 30 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat (1 g saturated), 66 mg cholesterol, 145 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.