Friday Night Dinners – Rock Sugar Chicken
Growing up, dinners in our house were on a schedule that repeated weekly. Tuesday and Thursday, refried beans and tortillas. Wednesday, homemade pizza. Friday was almost always chicken, either at one of my grandmothers’ apartments or cooked by my father. I have no recollection what I was served on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but I bet Mondays were leftovers. My parents are famous for leftovers.
When at my grandmothers’ the chicken was either baked in cornflake crumbs, or baked with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, depending on with which side of the family we were dining. Both perfectly fine, neither gourmet, although cornflake crumbs was far superior to Lawry’s. When my father cooked on a Friday, we might have Burn Your Eyes Chicken or some other stir-fried form, but more often than not, it was a chicken stew. Usually it was what we simply called Stewed Chicken; bone-in pieces with potatoes and small whole onions in a thick, flavorful gravy. It was always served over kasha. Sometimes it was Mexican Green Chicken topping rice, the sauce a puree of tomatillos, cilantro, onions, and garlic.
When I started cooking I always wanted to make Rock Sugar Chicken; a quick Chinese stew. A whole bird was hacked into bite size pieces with a big cleaver, the bones still in place. Scented with ginger, thin sliced bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms bobbing in the sweet brown sauce. I always had to make sure there was extra gravy to be soaked up by steamed white rice as leftovers.
Rock Sugar Chicken was one of my gateways to cooking; one of the earliest dishes I cooked, at first by my father’s side, and then on my own. I would have him confirm that I was adding the right amount of soy sauce and Shaoxing cooking wine as a marinade and I would ask if the ginger was seared enough in the oil. I needed confirmation that the chicken was stir fried sufficiently before adding the mushrooms and bamboo shoots. While I never inquired about the quantity of sugar – the more the better – I always wanted his approval that the chicken had stewed long enough and it was time to eat. It wasn’t too long before the recipe was committed to memory. I would still ask my father, but I knew the answers as well as he.
Over the years, I moved on from Rock Sugar Chicken. My palate expanded, as did my culinary repertoire, and I no longer wanted my food to be quite so sweet. But some aspects of this early dish remain. For example, I still love a stewed chicken, the sauce soaked up by a pile of steamed white rice. But now, instead of me cooking by my father’s side, I have my own children cooking with me, each preparing their favorite recipes. And they ask me questions, even if by this time they know the answers from having cooked their dish so many times under my guidance.
Rock Sugar Chicken
This dish is adapted from the original recipe in The Gourmet Chinese Regional Cookbook by Calvin B. T. Lee and Audrey Evans Lee. While the basics are the same, I add more shiitake mushrooms and sugar than the original, and I eliminate the salt. The mushrooms are my favorite part, surprisingly sweet from absorbing sugar. As for rock sugar, we haven’t used it probably since the fourth or fifth time we made it when we ran out and never restocked our supply. Instead we use regular white sugar or brown sugar in its place, and it tastes just as good. And while the original calls for a whole chicken cut into small pieces, nothing is lost by using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. In fact, it’s far easier to prepare and the tiny, annoying pieces of bone will never be missed.
serves 6, about 1¼ hours, including marinating time
1 whole cut up chicken (about 4 lbs.) or 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Shaoxing cooking wine or dry sherry
4 to 12 shiitake mushrooms fresh or dried (Chinese dried black mushrooms)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 slices fresh ginger, each at least the size of a quarter
½ cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained
3 Tbsp. rock, white, or brown sugar
½ cup chicken stock or water (omit if using dried mushrooms), or more to make additional sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. water
- Whether using bone in or boneless chicken, cut it into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add soy sauce and Shaoxing cooking wine, stir to mix, and marinate for at least a half hour.
- If using dried mushrooms, soak them in a bowl in enough warm water to cover for about a half hour until soft. When soft, reserve soaking water. Whether using dried or fresh mushrooms, cut off and discard stem, and cut mushrooms into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in ginger and cook, stirring and pressing to release juices, for about 3 or 4 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
- Raise heat to high and add chicken. Stir fry for 5 to 10 minutes, until the edges of the chicken start to cook through. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sugar, and stock or water (if using) and stir to dissolve sugar. If using dried mushrooms, add a half cup (or more) of the soaking water, being careful not to add any sediment at the bottom of the bowl.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low and cook covered, stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Mix cornstarch and water and add to the wok, stirring to combine. When it is added in, it will thicken the sauce. Serve hot over plenty of steamed white rice.
Hi Max, What is kasha? Loved your quote, “my parents are famous for leftovers”.
Hey Sandy – My parents are famous for their leftovers…for better or worse! Kasha is buckwheat groats – a whole grain commonly served by Eastern European Jews with bowtie pasta. It is called Kasha Varnishkes. But we never served it with pasta. When my father prepared it with his stewed chicken, it sort of served as a side dish, with the same niche on the plate as rice. I haven’t had it in years. Max