Another Wok First for me Last Night: Chicken in Black Bean Sauce.....sort of.

[mawnansmiff]

After my triumph with my hotdog egg fried rice concoction last week, last night I made something that actually resembled Oriental cuisine.

Though my local supermarket supplies most Eastern ingredients & sauces (I tried fish sauce for the first time....tasted like an athlete's sweaty socks might taste like after running three marathons on a hot day) they don't stock black bean paste so I had to buy some ready made Sharwood's Black Bean Cooking Sauce.

All went pretty swimmingly and was surprisingly quick to cook from start to finish, however I found the diced chicken breast to be somewhat tough. It was cooked through, just a little hard on the outside.

I'd watched a few recipes on YT and there was much variation regards the chicken with some blanching it in boiling water first to another who floured/egged/breadcrumbed the pieces afore deep frying them. I just fried them in hot oil before removing them to do the veg component before added them back later.

Maybe that is where I went wrong so in future I'll try a different method.

Also, rather than have my rice as a side component, I popped that (day old jasmine) into the wok about 2 minutes afore serving and gave it a good stir around.

Though not 100% perfect, the finished meal was really delicious & very filling. Tonight I'm having a go at katsu curry which I think is Japanese in origin.

I just ordered a copy of the below book to give me some tips...



Jay.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Keep us updated with further culinary delicacies from the far east... love seeing pics too.

Also - I didn't think the term "hot dog" was used much in merry old England. Jay, what say you?

 

[mingc]

Jay, try chicken thighs instead of breasts. Thighs are more moist and tender, albeit fattier.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Also - I didn't think the term "hot dog" was used much in merry old England. Jay, what say you?

Hotdogs are very much a thing over here though ours tend to be turd brown as opposed the the luminous orange ones you get in the States.

I normally buy mine in glass jars and I think they originate in the Netherlands.

Jay.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Jay, try chicken thighs instead of breasts.

Thanks for the tip. I did actually buy a bag of frozen (boned & skinned) chicken thighs, I'm only using breasts as they arrived fresh.

I do prefer thigh meat to breast meat when eating roast chicken, it's far juicier .

I think it was my cooking the breast too long in the oil that made it toughen up a bit.

Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Glass jars full of hotdogs, hmmmm...

 

[JOHN72]

Oh my God, this is getting interesting.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Glass jars full of hotdogs, hmmmm...

Like pickled bologna maybe?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Like pickled bologna maybe?

Well, I had never heard of it, but apparently it isn't that uncommon. Hotdogs in plastic like we Americans are used to seeing does have water in it also, so... maybe not as weird as it sounds.

 

[mingc]

Well, I had never heard of it, but apparently it isn't that uncommon. Hotdogs in plastic like we Americans are used to seeing does have water in it also, so... maybe not as weird as it sounds.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

That was what crossed my mind at first, ha ha

 

[Bbailey324]

Pounding out the chicken breasts to uniform thickness prior to dicing helps to both tenderize and result in uniform sized pieces for even cooking. Dusting with corn starch will help with browning and giving a crispy crust.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Glass jars full of hotdogs, hmmmm...

Here you go Michael....


These are way better than the little tinned ones, these are about 9" in length and taste great.

Jay.

 

[Flatfish]

I'm with Jay on this one. They come in glass jars or tins.
They are one of those foods that taste nice, just don't ask how they are made or what is in them.

 

[orlandofurioso]

After my triumph with my hotdog egg fried rice concoction last week, last night I made something that actually resembled Oriental cuisine.

Though my local supermarket supplies most Eastern ingredients & sauces (I tried fish sauce for the first time....tasted like an athlete's sweaty socks might taste like after running three marathons on a hot day) they don't stock black bean paste so I had to buy some ready made Sharwood's Black Bean Cooking Sauce.

All went pretty swimmingly and was surprisingly quick to cook from start to finish, however I found the diced chicken breast to be somewhat tough. It was cooked through, just a little hard on the outside.

I'd watched a few recipes on YT and there was much variation regards the chicken with some blanching it in boiling water first to another who floured/egged/breadcrumbed the pieces afore deep frying them. I just fried them in hot oil before removing them to do the veg component before added them back later.

Maybe that is where I went wrong so in future I'll try a different method.

Also, rather than have my rice as a side component, I popped that (day old jasmine) into the wok about 2 minutes afore serving and gave it a good stir around.

Though not 100% perfect, the finished meal was really delicious & very filling. Tonight I'm having a go at katsu curry which I think is Japanese in origin.

I just ordered a copy of the below book to give me some tips...

View attachment 290243

Jay.

Jay, you're grand . Just keep calm and wok on !

 

[mawnansmiff]

Pounding out the chicken breasts to uniform thickness prior to dicing helps to both tenderize

Good advice.

What I actually did was exactly as for the black bean meal but for my katsu curry I only browned the breast pieces for a few moments rather than a couple of minutes. When the meal was done they were perfectly tender with no hard bits.

The actual katsu curry sauce was really rather nice if a tad sweet. I'll certainly buy it again but hope eventually make it myself rather than buy it ready made.

I'm realising I bought a wok way too large for my requirements of cooking for one. It's 13" across and I'm sure I could have got away with a 10" wok.

With that in mind I've also bought an Indian iron karahi that is a more usable 9" across. Nice and weighty, it should be a good alternative to the wok. I seasoned it yesterday (setting off my smoke alarms yet again ) so will try using that next time.

I also need to sort out my portion sizes to suit my not very large stomach. Half a chicken breast, half a large onion, half a large bell pepper etc is what I've been using but I'm ending up with a 2 portion meal which I struggle to eat. Last night I scoffed about 90% of the meal and spent the evening with uncomfortable guts .

Ah well, this Eastern cooking adventure is enjoyable and I hope to get things right....eventually .

Jay.