Chestnut chicken

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Score fresh chestnuts, boil five minutes and peel while hot; vacuum-packed peeled chestnuts still get 鼎爺's extra step, ten minutes in lightly sugared water first, so they turn sweet and soft rather than mealy.
2. Marinate the chicken twenty minutes in the soy, a teaspoon of oyster sauce, sugar, cornflour, wine and sesame oil. Fry it in two tablespoons of oil until golden; lift out.
3. In the same pan fry the ginger, shallots and garlic until fragrant, then toss the chestnuts and mushrooms for a minute.
4. Add a cup and a half of mushroom water and water, the rest of the oyster sauce, the rock sugar and a pinch of salt; lid on, low heat fifteen to twenty minutes so the chestnuts soften and take the sauce.
5. Return the chicken, add the dark soy, lid on eight to ten minutes until it is cooked through: no pink at the bone, and the juice runs clear.
6. Lid off, reduce, scatter the spring onion and serve. The chestnuts should be soft but whole.

Take care

• Chestnuts are not usually treated as a tree-nut allergen, but some allergy guidance groups them with tree nuts, so people with nut allergies should take care. Contains soy and wheat; oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster). Chicken must be cooked through: no pink at the bone, and the juice runs clear.

The story

When the autumn wind rises, chestnuts from the north fill Hong Kong's markets, and chestnut chicken is the dish that marks it, the way cured meats mark the first cold snap. The Sing Tao column files it among the family dishes of autumn and winter, and 鼎爺's television version is the one home cooks now quote most.

Same technique

Braised beef brisket with white radishBraised chicken with dried shiitakeSoy sauce chicken

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.