Chicken with almonds, the easy recipe

The almond chicken it is a dish that comes directly from China and is one of the most loved and ordered in Chinese restaurants. Traditionally made with chicken, blanched almonds, soy sauce, spring onions, fresh bamboo and ginger, almond chicken can also be replicated at home in a simpler but just as good version! Chicken is mixed with starch and cooked with water and soy sauce, so as to create an exquisite creamy sauce that envelops the morsels of meat and peeled almonds. You can accompany the chicken with almonds with a small bowl of steamed white rice: we advise you to use variety rice Thaibonnet or Basmati. And if you are a lover of Chinese cuisine, you cannot fail to try the Gyoza or Jiaozi, the typical Chinese dumplings, and close the meal with a delicious scoop of fried ice cream!

Ingredients for 4 people

  • Whole chicken breast: 500 g
  • Peeled almonds: 100 g
  • Sunflower seed oil: 30 g
  • Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
  • Rice wine: 2 tbsp
  • Cornstarch: 1 tsp
  • Water: 100ml + 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Preparation: 20 minutes
  • Cooking: 20 minutes
  • Total: 40 minutes
  • Calories: 210 kcal/portion

Preparation

1

Place the whole chicken breast on a cutting board and, with a sharp knife, cut into strips of meat about 2 cm wide. We suggest using whole breasts, but you can also buy chicken breast in thick slices.

2

Slice each strip to obtain 2×2 cm cubes and pour the chicken cubes obtained into a bowl. It’s not essential to be precise, but try to obtain cubes of more or less the same size, in order to guarantee homogeneous cooking of the meat.

3

Add the teaspoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water to the bowl with the chicken.

4

Mix, with Chinese chopsticks if you like, but also with a normal spoon, the chicken with the starch and water until all the liquid is completely absorbed by the meat.

5

Pour the seed oil into the wok or, if you don’t have one, into a large frying pan with high edges. Turn the burner on to low heat and heat the oil.

6

After about 2 minutes add the almonds and brown them on both sides, then remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside. Be careful not to overcook the almonds: they should brown but not darken.

7

Drop the chicken into the hot oil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, using tongs or chopsticks to turn the chicken cubes and brown them on all sides.

8

In a separate bowl, pour the soy sauce and rice wine.

9

Add the 100 ml of water to the chicken being cooked and mix. Also pour in the soy sauce and rice wine mix.

10

Let the chicken cook for 10 minutes. We advise you to add 1 pinch of salt and taste a teaspoon of cream before adding more, because soy sauce is normally very savoury.

11

Cook until the liquids have thickened, stirring occasionally. At that point add the almonds, give one last stir and turn off the heat. Serve the chicken with almonds immediately, still warm.

Advice and tips

Traditionally, the chicken with almonds is enriched with spring onions and ginger, easily available in all supermarkets, and with bamboo shoots which you can find in ethnic supermarkets. You can however, omit these ingredients and get an equally tasty result!

We advise against using olive oil for this preparation, due to the too intense taste. Prefer sunflower or peanut oil.

In supermarkets you will find two types of soy sauce, one of which contains less salt. Depending on your taste, you can choose whether to use one or the other.

If you don’t find peeled almonds you can use almonds with skins. Blanch them in boiling water for 10 seconds and then drain them. This way you can easily remove the cuticle with your fingers.

If you like, you can add a grated fresh ginger while cooking the chicken, before adding the almonds. You can also add gods thinly sliced ​​spring onionsfrying them in the oil before adding the chicken cubes.

storage

Almond Chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days maximumin an airtight container. Freezing is not recommended.

Ingredients for 4 people

  • Whole chicken breast: 500 g
  • Peeled almonds: 100 g
  • Sunflower seed oil: 30 g
  • Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
  • Rice wine: 2 tbsp
  • Cornstarch: 1 tsp
  • Water: 100ml + 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Preparation: 20 minutes
  • Cooking: 20 minutes
  • Total: 40 minutes
  • Calories: 210 kcal/portion
Let's talk about "Chicken with almonds, the easy recipe" with our community!
Start a new Thread

Philip Owell

Professional blogger, here to bring you new and interesting content every time you visit our blog.