SHREDDED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES
1 min readServes 4.
Preparation & cooking time: about 25–30 mins.
This is the classical ‘Chicken Chop Suey’ dish that heralded Chinese food to the Western world at the end of the 19th century – it is rather amazing to think that one of the world’s greatest cuisines should have been represented by a dish that did not even originate in China itself, but thousands of miles away in San Francisco, USA!
115–175g (4–6oz) chicken meat, thinly shredded
1 teaspoon salt
¼ egg white
1 tablespoon thick cornflour paste
about 300ml (½ pint) seasoned oil
½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic (optional)
1 tablespoon thinly shredded fresh ginger root
3–4 spring onions, thinly shredded
115–175g (4–6oz) bean sprouts
1 small green pepper, cored and seeded, thinly shredded
½ teaspoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
½ tablespoon Chinese rice wine
2 tablespoons stock
pinch of MSG (optional)
a few drops of sesame oil
Mix the chicken shreds with a pinch of the salt, the egg white and about 1 teaspoon cornflour paste. Blanch them in warm oil, stir to separate, then remove and drain them.
Pour off the excess oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the wok, stir-fry all the vegetables for about 1 minute, add the remaining salt and sugar, blend well, then add the chicken with the soy sauce and wine, stir-fry for another minute, and add the stock and MSG, if using; finally thicken the gravy with the remaining cornflour paste, garnish with the sesame oil and serve hot.
