Title: Chinese: Chicken Chunks with Peanuts in Spicy Sauce
Categories: Entree Chicken Nut Chinese
Yield: 6 Servings
| 1/2 | c | Raw peanuts |
| 3 | c | Peanut oil |
| 2 | | Whole chicken breasts at room temp. |
| 1 | lg | Egg white |
| 1 1/2 | tb | Water chestnut flour |
| SAUCE |
| 4 | | Green onions |
| 2 | lg | Cloves garlic |
| 1 | tb | Minced ginger root |
| 1/2 | c | Chicken stock |
| 1/2 | tb | Sesame oil |
| 1/2 | tb | Chinese red vingear |
| 1/2 | tb | Dark soy sauce |
| 1 1/2 | ts | (level) chili paste with garlic |
| 1 | tb | Dry sherry |
| 1 | pn | Sugar |
CORNSTARCH PASTE Preparation: Trim ends off green onions and cut light
green and white part into 1" sections. Mix all other sauce ingredients in
2-quart saucepan. Reserve. Pull skin off breasts, then pull chicken meat
from bones. Slice meat into 1" strips, then crosswise to make 1" chunks.
In bowl large enough to hold chicken, add egg white to water chestnut
flour. Beat mixture with a single chopstick (not an egg beater or whisk).
Stir chicken pieces into egg mixture to coat thoroughly. Marinate 5
minutes. Note: water chestnut flour gives a lighter crust than cornstarch,
though the latter may be substituted. Deep-frying: Heat cooking oil in wok
or deep-fryer to medium heat (you'll need more oil for deep-fryer). Fry
peanuts until they are a light tan color; if a test peanut browns quickly,
turn down heat. Remove peanuts with strainer or slotted spoon; drain on
paper towel or paper bag. Reserve. Turn up heat slightly for chicken. Test
a chunk first: chicken should raise to surface immediately & brown in
about 2 minutes. Deep-fry coated chicken chunks until golden brown.
Deep-fry no more than 8 chunks at a time. Use long chopsticks or spatula to
keep pieces separate while they are frying. Remove with long chopsticks or
slotted spoon. Reserve. Sauce: While deep-frying chicken, heat sauce to
simmer. Add green onions & peanuts about a minute before serving. At the
last minute, add chicken pieces to sauce, mix quickly & serve.