Flashback to the Seventies: Chinese Chicken and Vegetables

by Bruce Watson, Posted Mar 24th 2009 @ 4:00PM

In my family, the official gourmet cook is probably my Aunt Evie. Married to a railroad exec, she has traveled around the world, trying out cuisines that the rest of my family can only imagine. Even before she lived in China, Poland, and Russia, however, she took cooking very seriously and was famous for her creative recipes.

Although Evie's "Chinese Chicken and Vegetables" is a little mild by today's tastes, it was pretty exciting back in the '70s, when my family put out its cookbook. Years later, when she was called upon to put a last minute feast together for a bunch of Chinese bureaucrats, she played with the recipe a little bit and changed the name to "Shandong Ginger Chicken," in honor of the province that one of the officials hailed from.

In the interests of reduced fat and increased flavor, I've played around with the ingredients a little bit. I substituted the butter and vegetable oil with olive and sesame oils, replaced the dried ginger with fresh, and added some brown sugar and pepper flakes. I also doubled the soy sauce, partially because I switched out the commercial chicken broth for my own salt-free stock.

Click for the recipe after the jump.

All in all, my aunt approved of my changes, although she questioned the inclusion of brown sugar. I think it adds a little sweetness and a touch of complexity, but I freely admit that that's a matter of taste. Regardless, this is a fairly easy, fairly cheap, very delicious dish that hearkens back to a few Trader Vic's meals that I enjoyed, once upon a time. Enjoy!

Shandong Ginger Chicken
Serves 8

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 1/2 cups boneless skinless chicken breast (approx 1.75 pounds), cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup sherry
11 ounces low salt (or salt free) chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 oz white mushrooms, quartered
6 scallions, finely chopped
5 oz sliced water chestnuts
6 oz snowpeas
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 325°. Saute the chicken breast cubes in the oils until browned. Remove to an oven proof casserole. Combine the sherry, chicken broth, soy sauce and corn starch in the saute pan. Cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened. Add the ginger, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken and bake for 35 minutes. Add the bell peppers, mushrooms, scallions and water chestnuts and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Remove from oven, stir in the snowpeas, sprinkle the almonds on top and serve immediately with rice.