Preparation time
10 minutes
Cooking time
20 minutes + 1 hour for masterstock
Serves
4
With chinese greens and shiitake mushrooms
Lyndey Milan's masterstock chicken breast with chinese greens and shiitake mushrooms recipe has complex and deep flavours, so choose a Riesling - preferably with a bit of age - to pair with this dish.
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 tbsp (20ml) peanut oil
200g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch baby choy sum, trimmed, leaves and stems separated
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Steamed rice (optional) to serve
Masterstock
2 chicken carcases (or 275g chicken bones)
½ cup (110g) yellow rock (or brown) sugar
1 cup (250ml) soy sauce
½ cup (125ml) Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
Masterstock spice mix
4 whole star anise
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
6 cloves
2 cinnamon quills, broken in half
2 dried long red chillies
3 pieces dried mandarin or orange peel or 2 tbsp chopped dried peel
4 cloves garlic, smashed
4cm piece ginger, smashed
Recipe by Lyndey Milan
Photography by John Paul Urizar
Styling by Michaela Le Compte
Food Prep by Sarah-Jane Hallett
Method
1. To make the masterstock: tie spice mix ingredients in a muslin sachet and place in a large saucepan with the sugar, soy sauce, chicken carcasses, garlic, ginger and 2 litres boiling water. Simmer for 1 hour, then remove the sachet and strain.
2. Increase the heat, add the chicken breasts to the stock and return to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until nearly cooked, turning once halfway through. You may need to weight the chicken down with a heavy saucer to keep covered by the stock. Drain and pat dry.
3. Heat a saucepan or deep-fryer over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken breasts until golden and crisp. Drain.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a wok or stir-fry pan over high heat. Add mushrooms and stirfry for 2 minutes, then add chopped choy sum stems, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for another two minutes. Stir through the choy sum leaves and a ladleful of masterstock. Stirfry until tender.
5. Slice chicken and serve immediately, scattered with green onions, along with stirfried vegetables and rice, if desired.
Lyndey’s note: You can use good quality pre-prepared masterstock sachets. After use, this masterstock can be strained carefully, then kept in the freezer (because chicken bones were used in it). Boil before reusing. Over time you will need to add more soy and spices.
Wine Match
Riesling