Chicken with oyster sauce

Chicken with oyster sauce

Chicken with oyster sauce.  Despite its name, oyster sauce does not taste “fishy” or even like osters.  It is a rich sauce that has a special affinity for chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chicken, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 4 scallions
• 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Dash of pepper
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 slice gingerroot, the size of a quarter
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablspoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Preparation:

Chop the chicken into 1-inch pieces.  Chop the scallions into 1/2-inch pieces.  In a bowl combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sherry, sugar and pepper.

Cooking:

Heat a wok or skiller over high heat until a drop of water inmediately zizzles into steam.  Add the peanut oil, garlic, and gingerroot.  Stir for about 30 seconds or until the odor of the garlic has become pungent.  Add the chicken and stir for 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Add the oyster sauce mixture and stir to coat the chicken. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock.   Cover and lower heat to simmer.  Cook for 4 minutes or until the chicken is done.  Add the remaining chicken stock if necessary to keep the oyster sauce from burning.  Raise heat to high and add the constarch mixture. Stir for 15 seconds or until the sauce has thickened.  Stir in the sesame oil and scallions.  Serve.

Note:

Oyster sauce adds a savory flavour to many dishes, making it an ideal choice for flavouring meat and vegetables. The sauce is a staple for much Chinese family-style cooking. It is commonly used in noodle stir-fries, such as chow mein. It is also found in popular Chinese-American dishes such as beef with stir-fried vegetables. This sauce can also be used as a topping for some dishes.

Since its early stage of development, this sauce has been widely popular with Cantonese chefs as a traditional umami rich condiment.

Until now, the applications of this sauce are no longer restricted to Cantonese cuisine. Be it the well-balanced Shandong cuisine, the spicy hot Sichuanese cuisine, or the seafood and red stewing-dominated Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, this sauce plays a part in enhancing the flavours without hampering the authenticity of taste. It brings out the umami flavour in the best delicacies while adding texture and flavour to everyday dishes, which makes it a condiment of choice indispensable for both professional or home kitchens.

Oyster sauces are well known for its magic of “bringing out the umami taste in flavourful foods” while “adding flavour to bland ingredients”, serving as versatile condiment ideal for umami-inducing, flavour enhancement, colour-enriching, brightness-adding and sauce-retaining for different cuisines.

The popularity of oyster sauce in the international market has lifted its application in different cuisines apart from Chinese.

Data gathered from Wikipedia

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