Yue’s Yappings

This is a great, everyday Chinese dish that I have modified for the American kitchen. The dish dates back to the last Chinese empress Cixi (1920’s), who converted to Buddhism in her old age and therefore would not eat meat. But she found meatless dishes tasteless and scolded the cooks for being incapable of producing more tasty foods. Eventually the cooks came up with a green vegetable dish containing minced chicken and called it Buddhist Vegetables. Cixi liked the dish, despite the fact it contained meat (although the names suggests it does not). Eventually the dish became part of the imperial menu.

The ingredients: 4 small bokchoy, ½ lb fresh fava bean , 2 tbs corn starch, 2 chicken breasts, 1 cup chick stock, 1 egg white, 1tbs cooking wine, ½ tbs sesame oil, 1 tbs olive oil

Wash the bokchoy, and split it in-half at the root. Blanch the bokchoy in boiling water for 1 minute. Take the bokchoy out and soak in the cold water.

Peel the outer skin of the fava beans then blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute. Take out the fava beans and put them in cold water. Now peel off the 2nd skin of the fava bean.

Take the bokchoy out and pat the root with cornstarch. Mince the chicken breast, add 2 tbs chicken stock, egg white, cooking wine, and some salt - which will make a paste. Now take the chicken paste and shape into small balls and place them at the root of bokchoy. Arrange the bokchoy in a heat proof baking dish add 1/4 cup of chicken stock and bake them at 400F for 15 minutes.

A few minutes before the bokchoy is done, start prepare the sauce. Heat a 1 tbs of olive oil in a small sauce pan, add the fava bean for 1 minutes, add the rest of chicken stock and cooking wine and thicken with mixture of cornstarch, sprinkler with sesame oil and pour on the bokchoy and serve immediately.