Braised Chicken and Mushrooms

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(Photo by wynlok/Flickr)

Serves 4-5.

Ingredients

12 large dried shiitake mushrooms
1 kg/2 lb chicken joints
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
3 tablespoons Korean soy sauce or Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 large onions, cut into 8 wedges
125 g/4 oz of canned winter bamboo shoot quartered and sliced thickly
3 spring onions (scallions)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Soak the mushrooms in very hot water for 30 minutes to soften. Discard stems, cut the caps into quarters and reserve the soaking liquid.

Chop the chicken joints through the bones with a sharp cleaver. Marinate chicken in a mixture of the garlic, soy, sesame oil, pepper and chilli for 30 minutes, then drain well and reserve marinade.

Heat peanut oil in a wok and stir-fry the chicken over medium heat until lightly browned. Add mushrooms, 1/2 cup of the soaking water and marinade from chicken. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender. Add all the vegetables, cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes. Crush the sesame seeds with mortar and pestle, sprinkle over the chicken and serve hot with steamed rice.

Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)