Steamed Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms with Spicy Bean Paste 豆瓣香菇蒸雞

Perhaps it's like cereal or milk, we kind of have our own preferred brand, and can be reluctant or even feeling forced to adjust to other variations when something is out of stock. That's the case when I was trying to make this steamed recipe with spicy bean paste 辣豆瓣醬. The spice bean paste that I've used over the years wasn't available at a department grocery store, usually it's easier to find at a traditional market. Reluctant to use any alternative choices, I delayed this recipe till that familiar blue and white jar showed up again. Maybe it's a good idea to stock up extra jar just to be safe?

Steamed chicken and shiitake mushrooms with spicy bean paste 豆瓣香菇蒸雞 - 

Ingredients?

• 1.5 lbs chicken leg pieces (bone-in, skin on)
• 8 shiitake mushrooms
• 4 to 5 slices ginger
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 stalk scallion

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon spice bean paste
• 1/4 teaspoon corn starch

How? 

Try to use skin-on, bone-in dark chicken meat, which will yield a more tender and flavorful result in the end. 

Peel and slice the ginger. Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Destem the scallion and finely chop the remaining section. Remove the shiitake stems, we're only using the caps this time.

Use a container that will fit inside your steamer or cooker to marinate the chicken. I have a Tatung multi-functional cooker here, so I simply use the inner pot, then I can just transfer the whole thing directly to the cooker to finish cooking. 

Mix together all the ingredients under the "sauce" section then transfer the chicken pieces over. Also add in chopped garlic and ginger slices. Give the meat a quick massage then let it marinate for about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer shiitake over in the end after marinating the chicken.

Add some water to the steamer or cooker, steam these ingredients for about 20 minutes, or till the chicken has been fully cooked through. You can test with a wooden stick or chopstick. Insert that to the center of the meat and see if it comes out clean. If still got some blood on it then continue to steam for a bit longer. If you're using dark meat, overcooking shouldn't be a big issue since the meat won't get too dry or too hard to chew.

Remove fully cooked ingredients from the steamer or cooker. Plate and garnish with chopped scallion.

It's more like a lighter but easier version of Chinese braise chicken with soy sauce. However, especially when the seasonings are on the lighter side, the quality of the ingredients becomes the key. Try to use dark meat, and must have bones and skin, which will release more flavor, and also that slightly sticky collagen goodness.

Other steamed recipes:

• Steamed fish fillets with aged Shaoxing wine 陳紹蒸魚片
• Steamed bass fillets with cordia dichotoma 破布子蒸鱸魚片
• Piggy chawamushi 小豬茶碗蒸