Steamed chicken with Shaoxing huadiao wine and red dates
Chicken marinated with huadiao wine, red dates and shiitake, then steamed until tender, with a fragrant wine-scented sauce for spooning over rice.
- 40 min
- Serves 3
- Steam
- Easy
Why it suits you: In blood stasis, blood doesn't flow freely, showing as a dull complexion, period pain or fixed aches. Huadiao wine warms and opens the vessels, red dates nourish blood, shiitake supports the body and chicken warms the middle. Steaming instead of frying keeps it light enough for Grain in Ear.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 20 min- 1Rinse and pat dry the chicken, mix with the soy sauce, wine, sugar, ginger and cornflour, marinate for 20 minutes and finally stir in the oil.
- 2Mix in the red dates, shiitake and daylily buds and spread everything in a single layer on a plate.
- 3Steam over boiling water on high heat for 15–18 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Scatter with spring onion and leave covered for 1 minute more.
Cautions
- Pregnant women, or anyone sensitive to or avoiding alcohol, can use less wine or water instead. Use only dried daylily buds, soaked well and cooked — fresh ones are toxic.
Chef's tips
- Spread the chicken in one layer so it steams evenly; the juices left on the plate are delicious over rice.
The TCM view
Chicken is sweet and warm, warming the middle and boosting qi. Huadiao, a yellow rice wine, is sweet, bitter, pungent and warm, invigorating blood and dispelling cold. Red dates are sweet and warm, nourishing blood and calming the spirit. Shiitake is sweet and neutral, supporting the body's defences; daylily buds are sweet and cool, clearing damp and easing constraint. Warming and blood-nourishing together, it helps blood move.
