Chinese Stir Fried Chicken + Preserved Vegetable (榨菜)

Chinese Stir Fried Chicken + Preserved Vegetable (榨菜)

• June 09, 2020

Growing up, my absolute favourite dishes were anything that involved Chinese preserved or pickled vegetables, and there are just so many different types. My mum's star dish was always pork with preserved mustard root jar choi (榨菜), whilst my dad's best was braised pork belly with sweet preserved mustard mui choi (梅菜). 

The Chinese stir fried chicken and preserved vegetables recipe I'm sharing today is a slightly adapted version of my mum's recipe. I've used chicken instead of pork, both work just as well, but I've stuck with my mum's preference of canned jar choi which requires pre-soaking, instead of the handy and much less salty ready to eat packets, which I tend to use for ease. 

The canned mustard root has a distinctive taste, to me, and it always fill me with nostalgia. 

Once the preserved vegetable has been pre-soaked, the rest of the prep and cooking is easily done in under 30 minutes. This recipe only requires half a can of the jar choi, but I've soaked the whole can and stored the other half in the freezer for use next time.    

Gather all your ingredients. 

The jar choi preserved vegetable is packed with chilli powder and salt and need to be soaked for an hour to get rid of the excess salt. After soaking and draining, it also needs to be rinsed under running cold water to remove remaining residual.

Slice the chicken thighs and put in a bowl with all the condiments. Mix well to marinade.

Pan fry the chicken thigh until golden, then add in the jar choi and water to create a sauce

Ingredients:
5 chicken thigh, skinless and boneless
1/2 can jar choi preserved vegetables
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp oil, for frying
1/2 cup water

Directions:
1) Pour the whole can of preserved vegetables into a large bowl, cover with boiling water from the kettle and let it soak for 1 hour. After an hour, discard the water and rinse very well to get rid of all the excess salt and chilli powder. Reserve half for the stir fry, and put the other half into a bag/container and freeze for next time or to use with something else (it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days if you plan to use it again soon)
2) Slice the chicken thigh into 1cm thick strips and transfer to a bowl
3) Add soya sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, garlic powder, white pepper, cornflour, 1 tbsp of oil to the chicken strips and mix well until all marinaded
4) Heat a frying pan on high heat and add 2 tbsp of oil. Add in the chicken strips and lay it as flat as possible so it gets evenly browned. After 4 minutes, turn the chicken to the other side for a further 2 minutes
5) Add in the jar choi, and mix well with the chicken. Pour in 1/2 cup of water to create the sauce and let it cook for a further 3 minutes
6) Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked through, plate up and serve with steaming rice or rice noodles

Enjoy your Chinese Stir Fried Chicken and Preserved Vegetables!