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Chinese Food and Camping – Part II – Recipe for Chinese Chicken with Soy and Ginger

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Last night, Boy Scouts Troop 10 on their camping trip, enjoyed the recipe for “Dutch Oven Chinese Chicken and Cashew Nuts” dish that we posted a few weeks ago.  Sadly, our fearless Leader, Scoutmaster Doc couldn’t make it at the last minute (best wishes to your son for a speedy recovery!).  For it was our Scoutmaster, who unbeknownst to him, found the recipe on The Chinese Quest!  Unbeknownst to him that one of the Mee’s, this Mee in particular, is the father of one of his Boy Scouts!!  When he showed us the recipe that he chose, I nearly plotzed!  I fessed up.  Small world, eh?

Dutch Oven CampfireMy plan was to take lots of pictures, and shoot a video, of the Scouts preparing, and enjoying the Dutch Oven Chinese Chicken and Cashew Nuts dinner.  But, alas, Mother Nature dealt us an unfair blow, for the Chicken took over half an hour just to defrost (did I mentioned it was FREEZING out there??)!  By the time it was ready to cook, it was too dark to take any pictures.  But, I can proudly say that the recipe for Dutch Oven Chinese Chicken and Cashew Nuts is not only Chinese Quest approved, but also approved by Troop 10!

So, since Doc wasn’t there to see, nor taste, the fruits of his recipe decision, I knew what I had to do tonight.   I had to find another Dutch Oven recipe!  And lo and behold I did!  So once again, you can go camping AND enjoy your Chinese food at the same time!!

Recipe for Chinese Chicken with Soy and Ginger

(from The Kitchn and serves six)

Dutch Oven Chicken Soy GingerThe recipe takes just a few ingredients, and through the magic of a Dutch oven, transforms them into an aromatic dish of perfectly cooked rice studded with chicken and shiitake mushrooms, flavored with soy, ginger, and garlic!  You can do most the prep work at home before you go camping (so you’ll be able to take pictures and video next time as you’ll be cooking in daylight and not waiting for the chicken to defrost again!!)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 boneless chicken breasts, about 1 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 scallions, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, roughly grated
2 ounces smoked sausage, such as Chinese lapchang or good Italian salami, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
10 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
2 cups Chinese long grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups chicken stock

Preparation:

The night before whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Stir in the chicken, scallions, garlic and ginger, and toss so that they are coated with the liquid. Place this mixture in the refrigerator and let marinate.

Cooking Directions:

  1. Dutch Oven Campfire Chicken Soy GingerPlace a Dutch oven, over medium high heat of the coals in the fireplace.  Let the sausage slowly release its fat. When the bottom of the pot is slick with the sausage fat, add the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms cook, without stirring them, for 5 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pot, and sauté the rice briefly to develop some toasty flavor (you don’t want to brown the rice here, just sauté it for 1 minute or so), then add the salt and the chicken mixture you prepared the night before. Pour in the stock.
  3. Bring to a boil.
  4. Take the Dutch oven off the heat, cover with a lid or with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
  5. Make sure to taste the rice for doneness before taking it out of the oven. Let stand 5 minutes, covered, before serving. Stir up the rice before serving, as the chicken and mushrooms will have risen to the top during baking. Stir thoroughly so that they are incorporated throughout the rice.
  6. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve with extra soy sauce and chili garlic sauce, if desired.

Doc, I don’t know if this works as well as Chicken Soup for your son, but we hope it’s whets your appetite for our next camping trip!

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)

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