Keep warm in winter with Dongbei stew

Chicken and mushrooms to keep the cold at bay
Unlike much of Chinese cuisine, this hearty fare from the chilly Northeast is simple to prepare, yet it also is healthy and delicious.
Let's admit it: foodies can be bad cooks, and in the case of Chinese food, this shortcoming is painfully apparent.


Chinese cuisine, often to a fault, prides itself on skillful and overly complex preparation. You can wax philosophical about the care you put into your Chinese dishes, but there is no easy way to turn a greenhorn into a skilled Chinese chef overnight - unless you are talking Dongbei cuisine.
The Dongbei style of cooking has a rough and wild reputation for heavy tastes, large quantities and liberal use of meat. For new cooks, Dongbei cooking is pretty easy: set the fire, pour the oil, chuck the ingredients into a wok, stir, add water, season and wait.
Though not one of the famed eight major Chinese cuisines, Dongbei cuisine is popular among diners. Considering the cold extremes of weather in Northeast China, one might easily understand the Dongbei obsession with stew. What better way to battle the cold than with hardy cooked meat and piping hot soup? In this spirit, nothing comes to mind quite like stewed chicken with mushrooms.
As always, good food begins at the market. Rather than quibbling over cutting techniques, to get the authentic savory flavor of Dongbei chicken stew you have to find the right chicken. Forget factory farms. However, some insist that the real essence lies with the mushrooms. Hazel mushrooms are a famous mountain delicacy in the Northeast and can be found in most supermarkets. But in practice, you can choose any kind of mushroom you like. Tea tree mushrooms are highly recommended.
You can also add some starch noodles if you want. Interestingly, this part of the dish is said to serve as a sort of test for newlyweds. According to Dongbei custom, a newly married couple should visit the bride's parents on the third day after the wedding. On that day, a northeastern family will treat their son-in-law to this dish as a sign of a sincere welcome. However, in-laws in China, or anywhere in the cosmos for that matter, can be cruel.
Since starch noodles are long and slippery, they are difficult to hold with chopsticks - let alone swallow with any semblance of elegance. It is not so much a meal as a test of mettle in a formal environment; either he is a master of the chopstick or wise enough to leave them in the bowl.
Every household has their own Dongbei chicken stew. Some prefer thick stock and chicken stewed a long time; others like it watery and light.
Chicken soup is believed to have health benefits. Just like in the West, providing chicken soup for the ill is tradition. In some areas like the Hakka regions in the south, women drink chicken soup every day after childbirth for a month.
The rough-and-tumble style of Dongbei food makes for an adaptable recipe. While the chicken and mushrooms are indispensable, some use potatoes to replace starch noodles and others mix and match as they please. Potatoes are a great replacement because the potato cubes absorb the flavor perfectly.
But ultimately, who cares about the style or health benefits? Just look out the window at the cold skies of winter and realize that the thing you need most in the world is a bit of stomach-warming, meat-heavy, savory stew.
Courtesy of The World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com
Ingredients
500g chopped chicken 鸡肉
100g dried tea tree mushrooms, soaked in warm water until soft 茶树菇
10g ginger slices 姜
10g garlic slices 蒜
1 tsp peppercorns 胡椒
2 star anises 八角
2 tbsp cooking wine 料酒
2 tbsp soy source 酱油
2 tsp salt 盐
1 tsp sugar 白糖
1. Heat cooking oil on high heat; add peppercorn and star anise when heated. Lightly stir-fry for 10 seconds, remove.
2. Put ginger and garlic slices into oil, stir-fry until fragrant, remove and set aside.
3. Add chicken, stir-fry on high heat until golden.
4. Add mushroom, add back ginger and garlic slices, stir-fry together.
5. Add cooking wine, soy source, salt and sugar to taste. Add water as needed, usually just enough to cover ingredients.
6. Cover with lid, stew for half-hour.
7. Place into big bowl, enjoy.
The World of Chinese

(China Daily European Weekly 12/04/2015 page27)
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