Asparagus & Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

Name: Asparagus & Chicken in Black Bean Sauce
Prep time: P1H
Total time: P1H30M
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: chicken thighs, boneless, skinless; asparagus; peanut oil; sherry; cornstarch; soy sauce, light; sugar; black beans; garlic cloves; brown sugar; soy sauce, dark; chicken broth; cornstarch

Yield

6 servings

Prep

60 min

Cook

30 min

Ready

90 min

Low Cholesterol, Cholesterol-Free, Trans-fat Free

Ingredients

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Features
2	each	chicken thighs, boneless, skinless	*
12	medium	asparagus spears	*
3	tablespoons	peanut oil or corn oil
Marinade
1	tablespoon	sherry dry
1	teaspoon	cornstarch
2	teaspoons	soy sauce, light
1	pinch	sugar	*
Sauce
2	teaspoons	black beans fermented
3	each	garlic cloves minced
½	teaspoon	brown sugar
2	teaspoons	soy sauce, dark
¾	cup	chicken broth
1	x	cornstarch paste as thickener	*

Ingredients

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Features
2	each	chicken thighs, boneless, skinless	*
12	medium	asparagus spears	*
45	ml	peanut oil or corn oil

Marinade
15	ml	sherry dry
5	ml	cornstarch
1E+1	ml	soy sauce, light
1	pinch	sugar	*

Sauce
1E+1	ml	black beans fermented
3	each	garlic cloves minced
2.5	ml	brown sugar
1E+1	ml	soy sauce, dark
177	ml	chicken broth
1	x	cornstarch paste as thickener	*

Directions

Marinating: With sharp paring knife, scrape chicken meat from thigh; slice into thin strips across the grain. (Breast meat is not preferred for this dish, as meat is too dry and spongy.) Combine sherry, soy, cornstarch and sugar in bowl; massage liquid into meat with your fingers. Marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

Preparation: Wash asparagus; peel tough white outer skin off ends; slice on diagonal in 2½ inch sections. Rinse fermented black beans.

In bowl, combine and mash black beans and garlic, brown sugar, black soy sauce and chicken stock; stir; reserve for 15 minutes.

Stir-Frying: Add ⅔ of oil to hot wok; when oil is very hot, add chicken. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes on high heat - or until chicken begins to shrink and firm up. Remove chicken to holding bowl.

Reheat wok to high, add remaining oil. When oil is hot, add black bean sauce. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add asparagus; mix with sauce. Stir sauce with asparagus. When sauce boils, add cooked chicken; toss to combine.

Dribble in a little cornstarch paste if needed; cornstarch in chicken marinade might be enough. Toss ingredients until very little liquid remains and is reduced to glaze. Dish is ready when asparagus brightens. If you still have too much liquid, remove ingredients, continue to reduce sauce, then return ingredients to coat them with sauce.

Serve in individual portions.