Stir-Fried Chicken with Chinese Kale (Gai Lan)
This deliciously simple, authentic dish uses easy-to-find ingredients and is prepared in around the time spent waiting at your local takeaway, (20 minutes). Stir-fried chicken with Chinese Kale puts your wok to good use without requiring the expertise of a trained chef. One like Chef Eric.
Last year we put the SAVEUR Selects Nitri-Black Wok and toolbar mixing bowl sets to the test in the hands of trained dim sum chef, Eric. With years of experience in kitchens across Hong Kong and now the U.K, this is one of the recipes he prepared for us to demonstrate how easy it is to cook in uncoated cookware and add that restaurant-style ‘wok hei’ taste.
About the dish:
Stir-fried chicken with Chinese kale (gai lan) is a classic and comforting Cantonese dish that balances tender chicken with the crisp, slightly bitter taste of Chinese kale (芥蘭, gai lan).
The chicken is marinated for extra tenderness, a common Chinese cooking technique to achieve a velvety texture. The gai lan (kale) is quickly blanched before being stir-fried to retain its vibrant green colour and slight crunch.
This dish is a perfect example of how wok hei (鑊氣), "breath of the wok," (high heat cooking) creates a smoky, slightly charred flavour that enhances overall taste. It's commonly served with steamed rice.
Ingredients:
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200g boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, sliced (See image)
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1 bunch Chinese kale (Gai Lan) Supermarket Kale will work too, trimmed and cut (See image)
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2 tbsp vegetable oil
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3 cloves garlic, minced
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1 3cm piece ginger, minced
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1 tbsp soy sauce
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⅓ tsp of salt
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¼ cup chicken broth or water
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1 tsp cornstarch
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1 tsp sesame oil
For the Chicken Marinade:
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1 egg white
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¼ tsp sugar
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½ tsp white pepper
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1 tbsp of soy sauce
Instructions:
Eric begins by pre-seasoning. (Scroll past the recipe for more about this technique)
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Marinate the Chicken:
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In a bowl, whisk together the egg white, sugar, white pepper and soy sauce.
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Add the sliced chicken and mix well, ensuring each piece is coated.
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Let it marinate for 10-15 minutes to coat and tenderize the meat.
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Blanch the Chinese Kale:
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Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and blanch the Chinese kale for 30 seconds to 1 minute until bright green and slightly tender. Drain and set aside.
Or if you have our best-selling mixing bowl and colander, carefully fill the bowl with just boiled water and slowly sit the colander filled with Chinese kale or your regular supermarket kale to the water. Leave to sit for 1-2 minutes then carefully remove the colander section from the bowl, discard the hot water and allow the kale to drip dry with the colander sat inside the bowl.
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Stir-fry the Chicken:
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Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat.
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Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until cooked through and sealed on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Chef’s tip: At this point wipe the wok to remove any small bits of chicken or marinade that might overcook during the next stage.
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Cook the Aromatics & Sauce:
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Dissolve 1 tsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water, ready to apply later..
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In the same wok, add another 1 tablespoon of oil, then stir-fry the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds until releasing those fragrant aromas that build up your appetite.
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Add the blanched Chinese kale and toss quickly through the garlic and ginger.
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Drizzle over Shaoxing cooking wine and continue to stir-fry.
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Adding a little chicken stock or just water at this stage helps prevent any sticking to the wok and helps steam the kale leaves while adding more to the sauce.
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Return the cooked chicken to the pan.
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Now add the cornstarch mixture and stir to coat everything evenly.
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Final Touches:
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Drizzle with sesame oil, give it a final stir, then remove from heat.
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Serve:
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Transfer to a plate and enjoy hot with steamed rice or noodles.
Pre-cook-seasoning.
Seasoning is the key to creating a naturally non-stick patina on your cookware. This process is applied to uncoated cookware in multiple layers. Unlike regular carbon steel and cast iron cookware, the treated-not-coated NITRI-BLACK carbon steel on this SAVEUR Selects wok doesn’t require seasoning to keep it from rusting. However, for the best possible cooking performance, and out of good habit, Chef Eric applied a pre-cook seasoning layer before beginning to fry.
How to apply a ‘pre-cook’ seasoning layer?
This is easy but may require an element of care.
Step one: Heat
Set a clean dry pan over a medium heat and allow to increase in temperature, heating opens the metal’s pores, helping it bond with the oil.
Step two: Oil
Using a high-smoke-point non-fibrous oil like flaxseed, grapeseed, rapeseed, or vegetable oil, pour in up to a tablespoon. With a lint-free cloth or piece of kitchen paper, take care to wipe the oil across the whole surface of the pan. Your pan will appear polished after this. Wipe off excess, there should be no visible oil pooling.
PLEASE NOTE: Not everyone has the asbestos fingers of a professional chef, and we advise using kitchen tongs in step two to avoid burning your fingers.
Step three: Polymerisation
Heat until the oil just begins to smoke and allow it to darken on the surface without creating too much smoke.
Step Four: Cook
You’ve added an additional layer of seasoning, and now your pan is ready to go. Chef Eric also recommends post-seasoning your clean pan after cooking with it before putting it away.
