Deeply savory with a kick of floral pepper, juicy chicken and tender crisp onions.

Chicken and Onions with Black Pepper Gravy

Serves 4 - 6

Years ago I learned about Jeremy Pang’s cookbook Hong Kong Diner. The way he spoke about the dishes of the cha chaan tengs and how they influenced him never left me. I’ve never been able to cook directly from the book but, this dish was inspired by some of the things I’ve learned about the food served in cha chaan tengs over the years through his YouTube channel.

This simple meal comes together in about 40 minutes including cooking the rice and results in a deeply savory sauce with a kick of floral spice from pepper. We often forget that pepper has lots of flavor but sometimes it’s nice for it to shine. The chicken is tender and juicy and the onions are tender crisp acting more as an actual vegetable element than just an aromatic.

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

500g (2.25 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken thighs

30ml (2 T) soy sauce

15ml (1 T) mirin

15ml (1 T) soju

8g (1 T) cornstarch

1g (0.25 t) granulated sugar

1g (0.25 t) ground white pepper

10ml (2 t) vegetable oil 

Black Pepper Sauce

250ml (1.25 c) water

72g (3 T) oyster sauce

60g (3 T) ketchup

37ml (2.5 T) soy sauce

30ml (2 T) mirin

30ml (2 T) soju

7g (1.75 t) ground black pepper

7ml (1.5 t) Worcestershire sauce

3g (0.50 t) granulated sugar 

Slurry

30ml (2 T) water

16g (2 T) potato starch 

Finishing

600g (2 large) onions, sliced 0.25 in thick with the grain

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 cheongyang or serrano chili, sliced

Cooked jasmine rice

Method

1.      In a medium bowl combine the chicken with all marinade ingredients except the oil.

• Massage the seasonings into the chicken until all of the liquid is absorbed.

This may take 2 – 3 minutes.

• Add the vegetable oil and massage 1 minute longer.

• Refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.

The marination time can also be as short as the amount of time it takes to prepare the rice and finishing the prep.

2.      In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the sauce ingredients until smooth.

• Set aside until needed.

3.      In a small bowl, combine the slurry ingredients well.

• Set aside until needed.

4.      Heat a large saute pan on medium-high heat.

• Add 15ml (1 T) vegetable oil and heat 1 minute.

• In a single layer add the chicken thighs and brown 3 – 4 minutes per side. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.

If necessary, brown the chicken in batches.

• Add the onions and saute for 4 minutes or until they are just starting to wilt. Remove to a bowl.

• If necessary add an additional 5ml (1 t) vegetable oil to the pan.

• Add the garlic and chili and saute for 1 minute.

• Stir the sauce well before adding to the pan and bringing to a boil.

• Add the chicken and all of their accumulated juices to the pan.

• Cover and simmer on medium-low for 8 – 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

• Increase the heat to medium-high.

• Add the onions and cook 1 minute.

• Stir the slurry well and add ½ to the pan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly.

The sauce should be glossy and thick but not gloppy. If your sauce is too thin add another ½ of the remaining slurry and bring to a boil stirring constantly and gauge the thickness again adding more slurry if necessary.

5.      Serve immediately over rice.