Recipe#25381

Title: Asparagus & Chicken In Black Bean Sauce

Soar

Yield: 6 servings
 
      2    Chicken thighs
     12 md Asparagus spears
      3 tb Peanut or corn oil
           MARINADE:
      1 tb Dry sherry
      1 ts Cornstarch
      2 ts Thin soy sauce
      1 pn Sugar
           SAUCE:
      2 ts Fermented black beans
      3    Cloves garlic, minced
    1/2 ts Brown sugar
      2 ts Black soy sauce
    3/4 c  Chicken stock
           Cornstarch paste as
           -thickener
 
  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 2 1/2" 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
  2/3 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.