SESAME GINGER CHICKEN

My primary care physician and I are, more or less, on the same or similar pages. The one thing in which we are in complete and total agreement is that chilipeppers are essential. He's Chinese from Indonesia, educated here. I am Dutch American, born here and raised overseas. So we're both from sambal cultures. Sambal being chili-paste with or without other stuff.
Sambal has made America and its weirdness bearable.
And, thanks to Huy Fong (Sriracha), good.
Y'all still "wrong", though.

Sambal goes with darn near everything.

Italian, French, Chinese? Add the peppers and stuff. Gefilte fish is great with green chili paste (sambal tjabai hijau). Fried fish? Add sambal. Porkchops? Hot sauce. Tex Mex? Needs way more hot stuff.

If you don't get it, you don't get it.


Saw my doctor today in Chinatown at the hospital, we reviewed recent lab work. Kidney function is okay, no signs of lung or thyroid cancer. My blood pressure is finally fine, although there are some circulatory issues.
The nurse thinks I'm a zombie.

Oranges are over-rated as a source of vitamin C.
Chilipeppers, on the other hand.....


And, of course, everyone agrees that I should eat better, and watch my diet. Good food is an investment in the long term. So less fat, more veggies (ooh, hey, chilies!), and just plain decent cooking. Cut the Bearnaise and gehakte leber out, as much as possible.



麻油雞 SESAME OIL AND GINGER CHICKEN

Six large pieces of chicken thighs (雞腿, 6塊).
Two dozen slices of ginger (薑, 24片).
One TBS Chinese wolfberries ('gau kei ji'), (枸杞子, 1湯匙).
Eight or nine large dried mushrooms (冬菇, 8-9個).
One third cup of black sesame oil (黑麻油, 1/3杯).
Four or five cups of Chinese rice wine, or sherry (米酒, 4-5杯).
Salt as suitable, a minor amount (鹽, 適量).
A pinch of sugar (一撮糖).

Black sesame oil is not commonly used in the cooking process, but added afterwards in small quantity to augment and brighten the flavour of dishes. It's darn well essential for Cantonese cuisine.
Here it is a main ingredient.

Look for 純正黑芝麻油 ('jeun jeng hak ji maa yau'; "pure & unadulterated black sesame oil") on the label. Many brands are mixed, because that is much cheaper, and perfectly suited to regular use.

Rinse and soak the mushrooms for two or three hours in water with a mere pinch of sugar, rinse the wolfberries (Lycium Sinense, 枸杞子) well. Cut each chicken thigh piece in half, a whack with the cleaver ought to do it. Sprinkle a little salt over.
Pour the oil into a cool wok. Add the ginger slices, and over low heat cook till fragrant. More of a simmer, really. Then add the chicken bits and seethe till the pinkness is gone and there is a little colour. Pour in the sherry or rice wine, bring to a boil, add the mushrooms and wolf berries.
Turn low, simmer twenty minutes, it is done.

In Taiwan this is considered strengthening for new mothers, and served with a bowl of cooked noodles doused with the broth on the side. Normally I like noodles, but to me this is best with rice splashed with the broth, and a hefty dollop of sambal........ wich, of course, goes with nearly everything.

And perhaps a little cilantro.


People from sambal cultures would also have a small plate of long chunk cut cucumber on the side, which is cooling and good for the digestion.
It's just a thought.



No Bearnaise was harmed in the cooking of this dish.




==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================