INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

it promptly with the slotted spoon to the heated serving dish. Move
quickly, lest the chicken overcook in the liquid. Add the vinegar to
the simmering sauce, stir, then taste for a good balance of sharp &
sweet. True to Hunan taste, it should be on the sharp side. Lower the
heat, stir the cornstarch mixture to recombine, then add it to the
pan, stirring until the sauce thickens & becomes glossy, 5-10 seconds.
Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken & sprinkle the sesame oil on
top. Serve immediately, while pungent & aromatic.  Serves 2 as a main
course, 3-5 as part of a multicourse meal.  Menu suggestions: Barbara
Tropp loves this dish on its own for a  simple supper, with silver &
gold thread rolls or a bowlful of  everyday chinese rice to soak up the
sauce, and in season some  cold-tossed asparagus w. sesame seeds to
munch on between mouthfuls.  To drink, try a white Burgundy, Meursault,
Pouilly-Fuisse, or an oaky  (as opposed to fruity) California
Chardonnay.  Iintroductory notes by Barbara Tropp: Tung-An is a county
in Hunan,  and this dish has all the beauty of refined Hunan cuisine:
it is  pungent yet subtle, complexly flavored without masking the
primary  good taste of chicken. It is an easy dish to turn out, perfect
for  the beginning cook, and a paradise for lovers of pungent, saucy
stir-frys. The original version calls for a whole young chicken &
fresh red chile threads. I find whole breasts & dreid red chile  flakes
far easier to use, and I make up for the visual loss by adding  plush
strips of black mushrooms. The breasts must be from small young
chickens for the dish to be good.  The chicken may be cooked a day in
advance. The rest of the dish can  be assembled & cooked within 30
minutes.  Technique notes: Par-boiling the chicken gives it a supple
texture  and a strikingly clean taste. It also means that the dark
sauce will  slide off the chicken, leaving it a lovely ivory-white.
Adding the  vinegar to the sauce last keeps its zing intact. It is
neither boiled  off nor compromised by the flavor of the other
ingredients.  NOTES : MC formatted by Holly Butman  Recipe by: Barbara
Tropp, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking  Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1
#773 by Holly Butman  <butma001@acpub.duke.edu> on Sep 06, 1997

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