Chicken Braised with Chestnuts and Shiitake Mushrooms

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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Chicken Braised with Chestnuts and Shiitake Mushrooms

This recipe makes 6 servings

Nutritional Info
Per each of 6 servings: about	-
cal	481481 cal
pro	30 g30g pro
total fat	25 g25g total fat
sat. fat	6 g6g sat. fat
carb	34 g34g carb
fibre	7 g7g fibre
chol	105 mg105mg chol
1	-
sodium	1,037 mg1,037mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	1212 calcium
iron	2929 iron
vit A	8686 vit A
vit C	6565 vit C
folate	3636 folate

Few Chinese banquets are without a fancy preparation of a whole chicken or duck. The rich chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms suit the New Year's table and represent fall and winter respectively. The carrot slices stand for gold coins that welcome the coming spring with riches, and the green bok choy reminds us of summer. Don't think of this dish as only for Chinese New Year; it makes a wonderful main course at any table.

Ingredients

1 lb fresh chestnuts 1 1lb lbfresh chestnutfresh chestnuts
16 large dried shiitake mushrooms 16 16large dried shiitake mushroomdried shiitake mushrooms
1 (3 lb/1.5 kg) chickens 1 1(3 lb/1.5 kg) (3 lb/1.5 kg)chickenchickens
3 green onions 3 3green oniongreen onions
1 piece gingerroot , (1-1/2 in/4 cm)1 1piece piecegingerroot, (1-1/2 in/4 cm)
2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 2tbsp tbspvegetable oil
2 carrots , sliced2 2carrotcarrots, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 1/4cup cupsoy sauce
2 tbsp granulated sugar 2 2tbsp tbspgranulated sugar
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine 2 2tbsp tbspChinese rice wine or sake or dry sherry
1/2 tsp Szechuan pepper 1/2 1/2tsp tspSzechuan pepper or black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper 1/4 1/4tsp tspwhite pepper
1 lb baby bok choy , halved lengthwise1 1lb lbbaby bok choy or Shanghai cabbage, halved lengthwise
1/4 tsp sesame oil 1/4 1/4tsp tspsesame oil

Preparation

Cut X in flat side of each chestnut. In small saucepan of boiling water, cook chestnuts, 4 at a time, for about 2 minutes or until skins can easily be peeled off. Place peeled nuts in saucepan and cover with water; bring to boil and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Drain and reserve.

In bowl, soak shiitake mushrooms in 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) warm water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid; remove stems.

Meanwhile, using kitchen shears, remove backbone from chicken. Cut off wing tips. Cut in half along breastbone. Cut each half between thigh and breast. Cut each breast in half crosswise. Cut each leg between drumstick and thigh.

Cut white and light green parts of onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths; finely chop dark green parts and set aside. Thinly slice ginger and stack slices; cut into diamond shapes and set aside.

In large shallow Dutch oven or deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown chicken, in batches; remove to plate. Drain off all but 1 tbsp (15 mL) fat. Add onion lengths and ginger; stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and carrots; stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in reserved mushroom liquid, soy sauce, sugar and wine; bring to boil. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add chestnuts, Szechuan pepper and white pepper; cook, uncovered, over medium heat until juices run clear when chicken is pierced, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, blanch bok choy until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and toss with sesame oil; arrange around platter and keep warm.

With slotted spoon, arrange chicken on platter; surround with carrots, mushrooms and chestnuts. Add reserved finely chopped green onions to sauce; pour over chicken.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: February 2002