Diced chicken with sweet bean sauce

This is a Peking dish which is simple and easy to prepare.

1/2 lb (225 g) chicken breast meat
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tsp cornflour blended with a little cold water
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp crushed yellow bean paste
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp rice wine or sherry
1 tsp sesame seed oil

Dice the chicken breast into small cubes, mix in the egg white and cornflour, then stir-fry in warm oil until half-done. Scoop out with a perforated spoon, add the yellow bean paste, stir, then add sugar and wine and blend them well. Now add the sesame seed oil and continue stirring until smooth. Quickly put in the half-cooked chicken, and stir to blend with the sauce. When the colour turns golden, then it is ready. It should taste tender with a suggestion of sweetness, and the colour should be bright and glittering golden.

© Deh-Ta Hsiung and reproduced with his kind permission.