Diced chicken breast with celery

Stir-fried diced chicken is one of the most popular dishes in China. This recipe was passed on to me by my mother, who in turn learnt it from her mother, so you might say it is a truly traditional family recipe.

Chicken breast meat
1 tsp salt
1/2 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
1 small head celery
1-2 spring onions
3-4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or sherry

Method

Separate the meat from the white tendon and membrane of the chicken breast, dice it into cubes the size of sugar lumps. Mix it with a pinch of salt, then egg white and finally the cornflour and water solution – in that order, not all together – this is very important.

Cut the celery diagonally into small cubes roughly the same size as the chicken cubes. Cut the spring onions into small pieces, also diagonally.

To cook, warm the oil in a pre-heated wok or frying pan, stir-fry the chicken cubes over moderate heat for a short time or until it is half done, then scoop out with a perforated spoon. Next bring up the fire to heat the remaining oil (if there is not enough, add some more), throw in the spring onions first to flavour the oil, and immediately following with the celery. Stir-fry for 1/2 minute or so with the remaining salt, then add the chicken and cook together for about another 1/2 minute. Now add the soy sauce and wine and continue stirring for about 1 minute (at the very most).

Serve hot. The chicken should be tender and the celery should be crisp and crunchy.

Of course it goes without saying that you can easily substitute almost any kind of vegetable for the celery, according to the season and your taste. I have come across at least half a dozen variations on this dish, all of them highly recommended. You will find them all basically very similar, and the cooking methods are the same, but it is in the varying use of supplementary ingredients and condiments that the subtle differences lie. After you have tried some or all of them, you can then decide which is your favourite. Who knows, you might even make up your variation, borrowing some ideas from these recipes, and that is the true spirit of Chinese cooking. Separate the meat from the white tendon and membrane of the chicken breast, dice it into cubes the size of sugar lumps. Mix it with a pinch of salt, then egg white and finally the cornflour and water solution – in that order, not all together – this is very important.

Cut the celery diagonally into small cubes roughly the same size as the chicken cubes. Cut the spring onions into small pieces, also diagonally.

To cook, warm the oil in a pre-heated wok or frying pan, stir-fry the chicken cubes over moderate heat for a short time or until it is half done, then scoop out with a perforated spoon. Next bring up the fire to heat the remaining oil (if there is not enough, add some more), throw in the spring onions first to flavour the oil, and immediately following with the celery. Stir-fry for 1/2 minute or so with the remaining salt, then add the chicken and cook together for about another 1/2 minute. Now add the soy sauce and wine and continue stirring for about 1 minute (at the very most).

Serve hot. The chicken should be tender and the celery should be crisp and crunchy.

Of course it goes without saying that you can easily substitute almost any kind of vegetable for the celery, according to the season and your taste. I have come across at least half a dozen variations on this dish, all of them highly recommended. You will find them all basically very similar, and the cooking methods are the same, but it is in the varying use of supplementary ingredients and condiments that the subtle differences lie. After you have tried some or all of them, you can then decide which is your favourite. Who knows, you might even make up your variation, borrowing some ideas from these recipes, and that is the true spirit of Chinese cooking.

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