sha cha chicken

Sha chais an intensely savoury and slightly spicy sauce made from an aromatic combination of garlic, shallots, chilli and dried shrimp. Here it acts as a braising sauce but it can also be used as a punchy condiment (try it on noodles. At present you can only find sha cha sauce in the Chinese supermarket where it is often labelled ‘BBQ sauce’, so take the Chinese characters along with you to make sure you pick up the right jar(see here).

Serves 41%2 tbsp vegetable oil 2% medium onion (about 120g), sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely diced 1 tsp finely diced ginger 400g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm strips 5 tbsp sha cha sauce 12 tsp salt 150g canned bamboo shoots, sliced 2 spring onions, diagonally sliced Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 2 minutes until slightly softened. Remove and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over a high heat and briefly fry the garlic and ginger until fra-grant. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. While the chicken is browning, stir the sha cha sauce to ensure that the sediment is evenly distributed, then add it to the pan. Stir-fry to coat the chicken until you can see the oil separating from the sauce.

qingquang

See author's posts