Quad Marinated Mu Shu Chicken By: Beer Bitty



Plum sauce and mu shu chicken go hand in hand. I couldn’t post last week’s recipe without following up shortly thereafter with a recipe for mu shu chicken. You’ll notice that many of the ingredients in the plum sauce are repeated below. Am I trying to minimize my grocery list? Yes. It certainly does make shopping much easier (and cheaper), but the flavors work so perfectly in each component. What I love most is that despite those similarities, the sauce and chicken don’t share the same flavor profile. The plum sauce is rich with a subtle complexity while the mu shu chicken spotlights bright flavors and contrasting textures. Chicken Ingredients 2 lbs. chicken, white and or dark meat

Note: Pork shoulder can be substituted for the chicken 1 tbs. cornstarch ½ cup Belgian Quadrupel ½ cup dark soy sauce (one of my favorite ingredients) 1 tbs. sesame oil 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 green onion, chopped Mu Shu Ingredients ½ oz. dried wood ear mushrooms and/or 2 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms 2 large carrots, julienned 1 ½ cups cabbage, chopped into thin strips 1 cup bean sprouts (optional) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbs. ginger, grated 3 green onions, sliced on the diaganol 1 tbs. dark soy sauce 1 tbs. Belgian Quadrupel 1 tbs. sesame oil 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar Mu Shu Pancakes There are 3 options for the pancakes: make your own, purchase some from the local Chinese restaurant (cheap), see if your local Asian Supermarket stocks them.Whatever you do, please don’t substitute with tortillas.. that’s just not right in this dish. I made my own based on this recipe, but it is a relatively time consuming process. They did turn out delicious, though!

Steps

Whisk together all of the chicken ingredients, except the chicken. Place chicken in a large bowl and pour the sauce over. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes. If using dried mushrooms, place them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to soak for 15 minutes. Squeeze to release any remaining liquid and remove the stems. Chop into long, thin slices and set aside.

Heat 2 tbs. flavorless oil in a large pan or wok over medium high. Add carrots and, if using, bean sprouts. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, ginger, cabbage, and mushrooms. Cook an additional 5 minutes.



Cook in a separate saute pan until cooked through.



Note: chicken can be cooked in the same pan as the vegetables. Simply cook the chicken first, then add the veggies. I prefer to cook my chicken separately as I find I’m less prone to over cooking and drying it out this way. Slice chicken into cubes or strips.Cook in a separate saute pan until cooked through.

Add the 2 eggs and use a fork or spatula to scramble; cook until the egg begins to set. Combine the chicken and vegetables and add the remaining wet ingredients: soy sauce, beer, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Cook until warmed throughout. Shmear Three Plum Quad Sauce down the center of a mu shu pancake/Chinese crepe, pile on the mu shu chicken, and fold the sides in to form a taco shape.

Serve with extra sauce on the side and pair with a dark, complex beer.