Hen kongbao: classic recipe

Classical Chinese cuisine finds many fans around the world. One of the most popular recipes is the henbao chicken. In the menu of Chinese and European restaurants, this dish is in great demand. It should be noted that the price tag for this menu item will be pretty decent. As for Russian restaurants, this dish is served only in expensive establishments.

And if you can not afford a trip to China and to visit a fashionable restaurant, you do not want to spend your family budget, then there is always an option to cook this dish in your own kitchen. It will cost you an order of magnitude cheaper. And the whole family can be involved in cooking. Here only it is necessary to know a few nuances of cooking and to choose the right frying pan.

The right dishes

As you know, half the success of the proper preparation of any Chinese dish is a quality wok. This frying pan works perfectly both on an open fire, and on a conventional gas or induction cooker. It is important to choose a good manufacturer, so as not to be disappointed in the quality of the dishes in the future. The wax must be made of good steel and properly processed. When you cook on such a frying pan, the products should not burn, there should be no glandular taste or smell.

Before cooking it is important to work well and rinse the surface of the dishes. Hen gongbao - a recipe that requires maximum return of flavors and flavors of food, so foreign impurities or the smell of detergent in the pan should not be. Wash the wok with a stiff brush (sponge) and just water, without adding household chemicals.

Ingredients for the dish

To prepare a recipe for "chicken gongbao" you will need exclusively fresh and quality products. You do not need to save here, otherwise you will not be able to enjoy the true taste.

• Two or three slices of chicken (350 g).
• A pair of cloves of garlic. For those who love "hot", you can take more.
• The root of ginger (3-5 cm).
• 5-7 pieces of green onions. This recipe uses the white juicy part of onions.
• Chili pepper (3-4 pcs.). You can use both dried and fresh chili. You can mix in equal quantities, and the one and the other.
• Two types of bell pepper (it is better to take a colorful pepper).
• Szechuan pepper - 1 teaspoon. Do not take ground, it does not preserve the sharpness and aroma.
• 100 grams of nuts. You can take ordinary peanuts or cashews.
• 4-5 tablespoons vegetable oil.

Ingredients for marinade and sauce

So, you decided to make such a dish as a henbao chicken. The classic recipe of this dish necessarily includes marinating chicken, this should not be forgotten. For a marinade it will be required:

• A couple of teaspoons of soy sauce (it is better to take light).
• One tsp. Wine (Shaoxing).
• A tablespoon of water.
• 0.5 teaspoon of salt.
• One tsp. Cornstarch.

In the cooked marinade we immerse the chicken and leave it soaked for half an hour. Preparing and marinating meat is an important process. Hen gongbao - not an ordinary breast with a lemon on a frying pan. All the smallest nuances are important here.

A dish with a special sauce is prepared. It consists of several types of soy sauce (a pair of spoons), one tsp. Sesame oil, three tsp. Sugar and a couple tablespoons of water.

Preparation of ingredients

Try to prepare the ingredients and the sauce in advance, as the dish is cooked over a large fire. This is a quick chicken gongbao. The recipe with the photo is presented in our article. The photos will convince you that the main thing here is that all the products in the process are already at hand.

Garlic and ginger are cleaned from the top "clothes" and finely chopped. It is better not to use grated or garlic. Hot chili should be washed, remove internal septums and seeds. Pepper is cut into small strips. If you do not like spicy dishes, you can replace chili with paprika or remove ginger from the recipe. However, the henbao chicken does not turn out to be classical, and you will not get the full range of enjoyment from Chinese food.

Nuts are cleaned. We pour out on a frying pan, where a small amount of sesame oil is poured. Warm up and lightly fry until a clear aroma appears. We put it on a paper napkin in order to remove the unnecessary oil. Chop the green onions in circles. Bulgarian pepper - small strata or strip.

Cooking process

We put the frying pan on a strong fire and warm it until the smoke appears. Add a couple of spoons of vegetable oil. Try to spread the oil all over the surface of the pan. As soon as the oil warms up, pour it out and put the wok on fire again.

Add a couple of spoons of oil and lay the first batch of ingredients. It will be chili and Szechuan pepper. At this point, the speed should be heeded off the fire and let the oil soak with spices, while not allowing them to burn. Return the wok to the fire and add the chicken.

As soon as the chicken changes its pinkish color to white, add ginger, spring onion, bell pepper and garlic. Chicken gongbao with peanuts - the recipe is very fast. In order for the meat to become soaked with spices and saturated with aromas, it will take only a couple of minutes.

After this time, add the sauce prepared beforehand. The dish should be stirred constantly, without removing from a strong fire. Once the sauce has a glossy shade and thickens, you can add nuts. Stir all the ingredients and remove the wok from the fire.

Garnish and serve

The dish is served immediately after preparation. The classics are hot, as they say, with a heat with a heat chicken gongbao. You can eat the dish in a cold way. But it is in the cold. Preheat, warm in the microwave to the arrival of guests (as we are accustomed to) should not.

As for the garnish, there are several options. First, you can not use any garnish at all. The Chinese enjoy this dish, so to speak, in its original form. Add to the table only a plate of bread or sesame strips of dough. If you do not have enough chicken to saturate or want to dilute the too sharp taste of the dish, you can use rice noodles or rice to garnish.

Aperitif to this dish is classic Chinese white wine. You can also take Japanese plum wine.