Recipe: Ginger and Black Fungus Chicken (姜丝云耳鸡)

(Click the above to view 5 pictures. Best viewed with Internet Explorer 7.) This post has been sitting in my "Draft" folder since February 12; it was so long ago that I have almost forgotten about it. I haven't entered my kitchen for over a month now so this draft comes to my rescue--it gives me a serving of fresh new content on Rasa Malaysia (which has been lacking as of late) and also reminded me of how great a dish this was. Ginger and black fungus chicken is a plain and humble dish that anyone can whip up in their kitchen, and most importantly, it's delicious and goes well with steamed rice. This dish is inspired by a recipe from "Thai Cooking Made Easy," a must-have Thai cookbook in my opinion. I have no doubt that the recipe is originally Chinese as many Thai recipes are adaptations of Chinese food. I like it that fermented beans are used in the sauce (which is absent from the traditional Chinese version), it adds a lot of depth to the taste of the chicken and black fungus. The addition of red onion is a nice touch, too... I will get back to my kitchen soon, I promise. Till then, check out my pictures of ginger chicken with black fungus, eat well, stay healthy, and have a wonderful weekend. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Other recipes adapted from "Thai Cooking Made Easy:" Son-In-Law Eggs Panang Curry ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Recipe: Ginger and Black Fungus Chicken (姜丝云耳鸡) Adapted from "Thai Cooking Made Easy" Ingredients: 1 skinless & boneless chicken breast (cut into strips) 2 inches ginger (peeled and cut into thin strips) 1 teaspoon oyster sauce 1 1/2 teaspoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon fermented soy beans (taucheo) 4 pieces dried black fungus (pre-softened in warm water for 30 minutes, then cut into bite-size pieces) 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil 1 small red onion (quartered) 2 tablespoons water 1 stalk scallion (cut into 1 inch length) Method: Heat up the cooking oil in a wok and stir fry the ginger strips until aromatic. Add in the onions and black fungus and do a few quick stirs. Add the fermented soy bean before adding the chicken strips into the wok. Stir-fry the chicken meat until the color changes, then add in oyster sauce, kecap manis, and sugar. Stir all ingredients together before adding in the water. Add the scallions, do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve hot with steamed rice. Cook's Notes: Black fungus is also called "cloud ear" (云耳) or "wood ear" (木耳). You can purchase the cookbook "Thai Cooking Made Easy" from my Amazon store. Click here to buy.