Braised black bean chicken with dark soy sauce and dried shitake mushroom

Writer's block; my worse nightmare. Two yoga sessions and two very sore feet later, with a clear mind, its slowly coming back to me now. Sounds like a verse out of a Meat Loaf song. Fortunately, the foodie in me prevailed resulting in the birth of a braised black bean chicken recipe. My top tip for recreating this recipe - the wok must be smoking hot!

It takes less than an hour from stove to table, here is the recipe. Enjoy!


Ingredients
6 chicken drumsticks
5 tbsp sake
5 tbsp sesame seed oil
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
8 dried shitake mushroom (soaked in water overnight)
3 inch piece of ginger (skin removed and sliced)
5 tbsp dried black beans
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Method
1. Marinade chicken drumsticks in sake, sesame seed oil and dark soy sauce. Leave for 30 minutes;
2. Heat vegetable oil in a wok. The wok and oil must be smoking hot;
3. Saute ginger, black bean and mushroom until fragrant. Add marinated chicken and stir fry until chicken is sealed;
4. Deglaze wok with enough water to cover chicken. Braise chicken on medium heat covered until sauce is reduced;
5. Add salt to taste;
6. Serve with steamed rice.

Serves 4.