Hands down a Hall of Fame recipe.
8 ounces chicken breast (thinly sliced)
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 Japanese eggplants (cut on an angle into 1 1/2-inch wedges)
3 cloves garlic (sliced thinly)
3 scallions (sliced 1½ inches long on an angle, separated into white and green parts)
5 baby bok choy sliced
1 king oyster mushroom (cut into sticks)
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 teaspoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
ground white pepper
¼ cup chicken stock (hot)
Velvet chicken according to Kenji's Wok book.
Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to your wok and heat until just smoking. Add the marinated chicken, and spread it around the wok. Let it sear for 30 to 60 seconds (depending upon your burner capacity) on each side. Remove from the wok and set aside.
Heat your wok over medium-high heat and coat it with 2 tablespoons of oil. Spread the eggplant out evenly in the wok, and let sear with the cover on the wok for 2 minutes. Remove the cover, turn the eggplant pieces over, and pour another tablespoon of oil around the perimeter. Cover the wok, and turn heat to medium-low for another 2 minutes until the eggplant is just tender. Next, raise the heat to high to cook the eggplant to a golden brown color–another 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add more oil and heat until near smoking. Cook mushrooms and bok choy until softened. Transfer to a plate.
With the wok over high heat, add another tablespoon of oil, the garlic, the white parts of the scallions. Stir fry for 30 seconds, and add the veggies and chicken.
Next, add the Shaoxing wine, and stir everything together. Add the fish sauce, sugar, soy sauces, sesame oil, and white pepper, and stir until everything is combined–about a minute. Next, add the green portion of the scallions.
Pour the chicken stock around the perimeter of the wok to deglaze it. Stir fry until everything is well-combined, and most of the liquid has been absorbed by other ingredients. Serve with steamed jasmine rice!