Ingredients
1/4 cup fermented chinese blk. beans
1 lb snow peas
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger =or=- po, wdered ginger
4 chicken breast halves (boned)
3 tbsp salad oil
2 tbsp dark sesame oil (optional)
1/4 bunch cilantro
Directions
SOAK THE BLACK BEANS IN WATER for 15 minutes. Drain and discard water.
Meanwhile, cook the snow peas in boiling salted water for 30 seconds.
Immediately drain and plunge into ice water to chill. Drain again,
dry on a towel, cut lengthwise into thin julienne strips and set
aside. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the black beans with the sherry
and cook for 1 minute over high heat. Add broth, garlic and ginger
and bring almost to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add the chicken
breasts, cover and simmer 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let the
contents of the pan steep, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken
breasts to a plate and return the pan to the stove. Place over medium
heat and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, reducing the liquid by 1/3.
Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, let cool for 10 minutes, then
transfer the mixture to a blender. Running the blender on medium,
slowly add both oils. When it's time to put dinner on the table, pour
the sauce onto a platter, and place a pile of snow peas in the center
of the plate. Slice the chicken diagonally across the grain into thin
strips. Fan chicken breasts around the snow peas. Arrange vegetables
around the chicken and sprinkle with cilantro.
Servings: 4 servings
Chicken Salad With Black Beans Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bean; Chicken; Chicken Salad; Poultry; Salad
The History of Recipes
Historians have traced the existance of recipes way back into the far past, certainly as far back into recorded history as the Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. In practice though, mostly, these ancient recipes were just primitive pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to food historians are some clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel blissful. During Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius assembled a collection of scripts detailing recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. He describes how the meals were divided into appetizers, main meal and dessert, a very modern way of dining. He also recounts how the chefs of Roman times made use of many different herbs and spices, including a few you will know such as bay, mint and dill. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including spices like coriander, parsley, and rosemary. These new foods and spices was responsible for an eruption in books on cookery, many of which are kept safe in private collections. During the succeeding few centuries, the upper-class families of the West competed to serve up the most extravagent banquests, and because of this cooks and their recipes were at a premium. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that cookery and recipe collections reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, testing, and recording popular recipes of the day. By the time we get to the twentieth century, cookery publications were highly popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, more free time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Chicken Salad With Black Beans recipe.
