Recipe - Braised Black Mushroom Chicken

10 (up to)
15 Dried black mushrooms
1 (3lb) chicken
4 tablespoon Soy sauce
2 tablespoon Sherry
1 teaspoon Sugar
2 (up to)
3 tablespoon Oil
2 cup Water
One half teaspoon Salt
1 ds Pepper

1. Soak dried mushrooms.

2. Wipe chicken with a damp cloth and disjoint. Combine soy sauce, sherry
and sugar.

3. Heat oil in a large heavy pan. Brown chicken quickly. Then stir in
soysherry mixture. Reduce heat and cook, covered, 5 minutes, turning
pieces once.

4. Boil water separately. Add to chicken, along with mushrooms, salt and
pepper. Bring to a boil again; then simmer, covered, until done (35 to 40
minutes). VARIATIONS:

1. For the water, substitute stock.

2. Omit the water. Increase the soy sauce and sherry to One half cup each and
the sugar to 1 tablespoon. Add with the other ingredients after chicken is
browned; and simmer, covered, about 40 minutes.

3. In step 3, add to heated oil 2 slices ginger root, crushed; and 1
scallion stalk, cut in 2inch sections. Stirfry a minute; then add chicken
and brown.

4. In step 3, after browning chicken, add the soaked mushrooms and One half cup
bamboo shoots, cut or sliced up . Stirfry to coat with oil; then continue with steps
3 and 4.

5. In step 4, add with the mushrooms, 10 Chinese red dates.

6. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add One fourth cup fresh green peas.

From The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0517658704. Downloaded
from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.