An incredible stir-fried chicken recipe infused with a delicious almond flavor
Whether it’s through cashew chicken, kung pao chicken, or this latest addition, almond stir-fried chicken, Chinese cuisine and even Asian cuisine in general is full of dishes combining chicken and nuts. Why?
So, I could have fun giving you a deeply cultural reason, rooted in ancestral traditions… But there’s nothing like that, it’s just de-li-cious.
The Origins of Chinese Almond Stir-Fried Chicken
To be honest, I haven’t really managed to find a clear history of this dish. There is a dish of the same name from the Chinese diaspora in the US (in Detroit), but it doesn’t resemble at all the recipe I’m presenting to you today.
There, almond chicken has been very Americanized, in sauce, whereas here, I simply follow the classic pattern of a Chinese stir-fry to have a caramelized sauce that’s very intense in flavor.
The main ingredients of Almond Chicken
Chicken thighs: use whichever part you want, but the intramuscular fat contained in this piece brings a divine taste
The cornstarch: helps to bind the marinade and provides a mini breading during cooking
The light soy sauce: brings saltiness
The oyster sauce: doesn’t taste like oyster, but brings a nice dose of umami to the dish
The sesame oil: rounds out the flavor of the dish a bit, you can omit it
Shaoxing wine: Chinese cooking wine, it brings a touch of authenticity but you can replace it with dry sherry
Authentic Chinese Almond Chicken
Matériel
- 1 Wok
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs cut into pieces
- 65 g almonds raw, shelled
- 5 stems young onions cut into 3 cm segments
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 5 g of ginger fresh, sliced
- 2 portions of white rice cooked
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 pinch salt
Sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Procédé
- In a bowl, marinate the chicken with the marinade for 30 minutes
- In a bowl, combine sauce ingredients.
- In a wok, heat oil over high heat
- Add the chicken. Wait a few minutes without stirring to brown, then stir-fry until cooked. Set aside.
- Over medium-high heat, add a little oil and stir-fry the almonds for 2-3 minutes. Set aside but try to keep as much oil as possible in the wok, it will have absorbed the almond flavor well
- Add the green onions, stir-fry for 1-2 minutes
- Add the garlic and ginger, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes
- Add the chicken and almonds back in, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sauce and stir-fry until it has reduced well
- Serve over rice
