You Ingrates! Here’s something similar done with chicken.

Do you guys think I’m doing this for my own amusement? I have to tell you I am not impressed. I spend the early part of the week cogitating “What would they like to see?”  “What would be good enough to share with them?” “I’ll need to buy another couple of plates, they are probably bored with these ones…” The thought process goes on. The angst builds until I finally settle on cooking something that I am convinced will win you over. The latter part of the week is spent ensuring I have the best and the freshest ingredients. Saturday, I check my camera gear. Tension in the household mounts. On Saturday evening or possibly Sunday, I take control of the kitchen and cook and photograph for you. Then I process the pictures and try to think of something to say.

So went the week that I did all the above and cooked Monkfish Cheeks in Black Bean and Chili Sauce. And what do you do? You complain that you can’t get monkfish cheeks in Outer Mongolia or wherever it is you live. I am not happy. It is becoming obvious that you are incapable of truly appreciating my culinary art.

I accept this as how things are and how they will remain. On the principle of “If you can’t beat them, join them.”, here’s something very similar done using chicken. I give you Chicken with Peppers, Chili, Lemon grass, Garlic, Ginger and Black Bean Sauce. There are a couple of extra ingredients in the title to try to keep the less ungrateful of you interested.

Here’s what you’ll need

• 3 free range chicken breasts
• 3 bell peppers
• 3 chilis
• 3 stalks of lemongrass
• An inch of ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Fermented black beans
• 2 tablespoons of rice wine
• 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 heaped teaspoon of cornstarch
• Thai fragrant rice to serve

First pour some hot water on the black beans. These take about 20 minutes to come good.

I pour on hot water. Not like the way you pour cold water on my ideas.

Then chop the lemongrass.

You need to get it nice and small. Smaller than this (it would not have made as nice a photo).

Then chop the garlic, ginger and chilis.

I tried to keep it interesting for you by using three colour of chili.

Next, seed and chop the peppers. Note the size of the peppers when cut. We want to keep them roughly the same size as the chicken strips. This is for aesthetic reasons and ease of eating.

I even got the bell peppers in the same colours as the chilis. Nice, or what?

Next chop the chicken into strips, and put it in a bowl.

Add the cornflour / cornstarch. I got help. Those are not my purple, chipped fingernails.

Side note of efficiency: I chop the food in this order so I only have to wash the chopping board once at the end. I cut the stuff in ascending order of wetness/sliminess. It also helps to do the chicken last so as not to be spreading raw chicken bits all over the place with the other ingredients. 

Whip the egg with a little water and add to the chicken.

The chicken benefits by getting a slight crispy crust from the coating.

Mix it all up to coat the chicken strips. Heat your large wok. (Don’t start on about not having a large wok. I don’t want to hear it.). Add some peanut oil and then the lemongrass. Stir this until the aromas rise then add the garlic and ginger. Stir this for a little and take it off the heat.

Don’t burn these. If you do, the whole dish will take on a bitter cast. Bitter like me.

Add and fry the peppers until they get a nice high colour.

A pepper pouring shot. The first of two. Hopefully these will keep you amused.

Remove and reserve. Add the chicken strips a few at a time (to prevent the wok cooling down and the chicken stewing). Stir fry them.

A nice coating forms on the chicken when done this way.

When all the chicken is in there, add the chilis and stir fry to incorporate.

The cooking chilis will make you cough. They did for me, for sure.

Splash in the soy sauce and rice wine.

Starting to come together nicely. You must be happy – you can get all the ingredients locally.

Add back the peppers.

Pepper pouring shot number two.

Then add the black beans

This is the gratuitous wok shot. I just liked it and thought you would too.

Stir to incorporate everything.

Ready to serve. I managed to feed six hungry diners with this.

We had it with Thai Fragrant Rice that modestly describes itself as “Legendary Rice”. The flavour of the dish is enhanced by “Healthy Boy Brand” soy sauce. I can testify that the dish is healthy. Try it yourself and let me know if it qualifies as “Legendary”.

The ginger beer was a great drink to go with this slightly hot tasty chicken.

Now, you have no excuses. All the ingredients are available locally to you. Go and cook this. Report back and let me know if you are once again approving of, and grateful for, my efforts here. Remember, I am doing this for YOU!

With particular thanks to: 

• Tommy at egg me on for suggesting chicken instead of the fish.
• Richard at REM Cooks for being unable to get monkfish cheeks in DFW.
• John in Chicago for likewise in Chicago.
• John at Feed the Piglet for never cooking monkfish cheeks before. 
• Eha for not knowing if she could get them in Australia.
• Stefan at Stefan Gourmet for never having seen monkfish cheeks for sale.
• To Jodie and Ken at the Garum Factory for “never see the cheeks”.
• Mad Dog for his comments and co-sparking with Tommy the idea for this post. 
• And last but not least, the rest of you, for putting up with this nonsense.