chinese style chicken chop

So, I tried making Spicy Chicken with Honey from  "A Taste of Home" by Andrew Kow, and flushed with my success as it was super delicious, I decided to try another recipe from the same book.

As usual, I pick recipes according to (1) what I feel like eating; (2) what is available in my fridge/ freezer/ pantry; and (3) how much time I have to fiddle around with the ingredients.

Since building on my repertoire of chicken dishes is pretty high on my to-do list, I decided I had to make a chicken dish. Hence, I picked this recipe.

I rarely use char siu sauce when I cook. I am not even sure why I have a tub of char siu sauce lurking in my pantry, but I do. It was the char siu sauce that made this dish in the end. The LAM noticed the difference immediately but could not fathom what the "secret" ingredient was. "It tastes like teriyaki sauce gone wrong," he said. LOL. The sauce gives the dish a smoky flavour like teriyaki sauce does, but it is definitely more distinctive. Delish, I say!

At least an hour prior to cooking, marinate the chicken. I used boneless thighs and marinated them for half a day. The flavour improves the longer you marinate. I left my chicken thighs whole and the skin was left on for photography purposes only. So by all means, remove the skin and cut the chicken in smaller pieces before cooking.

In a bowl, I placed the chicken pieces. I added light and dark soy sauces, five spice powder, Shaoxing wine and salt.

I covered the bowl with cling film and left the chicken in the fridge to marinate.

I started by frying the chicken thighs oil until they turned golden brown. They were then drained on kitchen towels.

In a bowl, I whisked together oyster sauce, plum sauce, pepper, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, char siew sauce, sesame oil and water.

Once all the thighs had been cooked, I heated the wok and added the sauces. Then I placed the chicken pieces into the sauce and covered the wok to braise until they were cooked through.

Once the chicken was cooked through, I thickened the sauce with a tapioca flour slurry and the dish was ready to be served!

RECIPE
Chinese Style Pork Chop (Serves 8)
Adapted from recipe by Andrew Kow in "Taste of Home"

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, skin removed, and cut into smaller pieces if desired
2 tsp tapioca flour, mixed with 2 tsp water to form a slurry

Marinade:
3 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tbs Shaoxing wine
1 tsp five spice powder
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Seasoning:
2 tbs oyster sauce
3 tbs plum sauce
1 tbs Shaoxing wine
1 tbs char siew sauce
1/2 tbs dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp grounded white pepper
1 cup water

Method:
1. Season chicken, cover bowl with cling film and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to one day.
2. Fry chicken in hot oil until they turn golden brown. Drain and set aside.
3. Place seasoning in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
4. Heat wok, add seasoning and chicken. Braise chicken until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Thicken gravy with a tapioca flour slurry.
6. Serve immediately, with rice.