Chicken Stir-Fry with Fermented Black Beans
My step-son, Ben, called the other day and asked for the chicken stir-fry with fermented black beans that we often make. With everyone cooking at home almost all the time, our kids have been cooking more. They’ve always been capable in the kitchen, but given the situation these days, each one of them has asked us for favorite recipes.
Actually, this recipe was originally Hank’s. A long time ago, when I first knew him, he would often talk about a recipe in a cookbook that he used to have. He no longer had the cookbook, but longed to make the recipe for chicken and black beans that he remembered. Although Amazon existed back then, it certainly was not like it is now, and because this book was out of print, I had to spend quite a bit of time tracing down a copy of The Chinese Cookbook by Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee. It was one of the first gifts I ever bought for him.
When Ben asked, we thought we could just photograph the recipe and send it to him. But, as is almost always the case, we don’t follow actually the recipe in the book! So we sat down and worked through what we really do, and wrote it up so we could post it for Ben.
While I do try to offer substitutions when possible, there really is nothing I know of that can stand in for the fermented black beans. They are pretty easy to source, and they last forever – I think we’ve had the package we’ve been working through literally for years!
As with most stir-fries, we usually make it together. We find with this style of cooking, if we prep together mis-en-place (which is how I present the recipe), we can get things ready quickly and then the actual cooking time is rather short.
Chicken Stir-Fry with Fermented Black Beans
Serves 4
1½ pounds boneless, skinless thighs or breasts, cut into ¾-inch cubes
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
6 Tablespoons fermented (sometimes labeled ‘salted’) black beans
3 Tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
3-4 large shallots, cut through the root into pieces about the size of large garlic cloves
½ cup peanut or canola oil, plus more if needed
½ pound green beans, trimmed
2 Tablespoons regular soy sauce
2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce, or substitute 1½ Tablespoons regular soy sauce + ½ Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sugar
Toss chicken in a medium bowl with the cornstarch and set aside.
Combine the black beans with the Shaoxing wine in a small bowl and set aside.
Place the ginger, garlic, and shallots in another small bowl and set aside.
Heat canola oil in a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. (The heat should be on the hotter side, but if it’s too hot, you will have to be careful about splattering.) Add chicken in batches, and stir-fry 3-4 minutes until done. You may need additional oil for the second batch. Drain, remove to a clean bowl, and set aside.
Add a bit of oil if needed, and stir-fry the green beans for 2 minutes, then add the ginger mixture and stir-fry an additional 1-2 minutes until green beans and shallots are just tender. Drain, remove to the bowl with the chicken, and set aside.
Remove all but 1-2 Tablespoons of oil. Over medium-high heat, add the black beans, mashing them down with the back of a large spoon, making it into a paste. It’s fine if a few of the black beans remain intact.
Add the soy sauces and sugar. Cook about 30 seconds. Increase the heat to high, add the chicken and the green beans with shallots, and stir to combine.
Serve with rice.