Steamed Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

This is a savory, homestyle steamed chicken dish made with black bean sauce, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms. The chicken is tender and flavorful, making it a perfect dish to serve with rice or congee.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Servings

Calories 274kcal

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

500 g large chicken legs about 2, deboned and cut into chunks

Other Ingredients

5 –6 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked, stems removed, and chopped
30 –40g dried wood ear mushrooms soaked and torn into small pieces
1 stalk scallion 20g, divided: white part minced, green part sliced
15 g garlic minced

Seasonings

20 g fermented black beans 2 tsp, chopped with scallion and garlic
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp starch cornstarch or potato starch
3 tbsp cooking oil for heating and pouring over the black bean mixture

Instructions

Prepare the Ingredients

Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 20–30 minutes until soft, then remove stems and cut into small pieces. (If you have time, you can soak them in room temperature water overnight.)
Soak the dried wood ear mushrooms for 15–20 minutes until fully expanded and tender, then tear into small florets.
Debone the chicken legs, rinse to remove blood and impurities, pat dry, then cut into bite-sized chunks.

Make the Sauce

Chop fermented black beans together with garlic and scallion (white part).
Place in a bowl, and pour over 3 tbsp of hot oil (heated to about 70% hot) — it should sizzle. Stir to mix.
Add white pepper, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir well to combine into a rich black bean sauce.

Marinate the Chicken

Place the chicken chunks in a bowl. Add the black bean sauce and mix well by hand (wear gloves if preferred).
Add the starch and mix again until evenly coated.
Let the chicken marinate for 15–20 minutes to absorb all the flavors.

Steam the Chicken

Spread the soaked mushrooms and wood ear evenly on the bottom of a heatproof plate.
Lay the marinated chicken evenly on top, not too thick to ensure even cooking.
Bring water to a boil in a steamer. Once boiling, place the plate in, cover, and steam on high heat for 12 minutes.
Do not open the lid while steaming to avoid losing heat and steam.

Serve

Remove the plate carefully with oven mitts or a towel.
Sprinkle with the remaining scallion (green part) as garnish.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Nutrition