How to make
This recipe is absolutely magnificent for treating guests with, to whom you'll serve the most hated part of the chicken - the tough white meat - with finesse, and leave them licking their fingers.
Cut the chicken meat into cubes 3/4″ (2 cm) per side.
Mix the egg white with the corn flour. Add the chopped meat, a little salt, stir and let sit for about 30 min. In the meantime, get to work on the rest of the recipe.
Braise the finely chopped onions, carrot and garlic in a deep pan with a little oil and a little butter. Take them out with a slotted spoon and add a little more oil.
Once the fat heats up, braise the chicken bites in it, being careful not to have them stick to one another. Once they gain a golden color, take them out with a slotted spoon as well and add them to the other fried vegetables.
When done frying, pour the fat into a porcelain cup and set it aside for preparation of the rice later. Return the meat bites and veggies to the deep pan, pour in 2 cups (0.5 L) water (even better if you use the chicken broth from the boiling of the chicken after making soup), the soy sauce, cognac, sugar, salt, black pepper, ginger. Boil the dish on low heat for 30 min.
Dilute 2 tsp flour with a little water in a cup until you get a thin sludge. Add it, while stirring, to the hot dish to thicken it and take off the stove in a little bit.
In another container (shallow pot), pour in the set aside fat. Wash the rice, strain in a large strainer, add it to the heated fat and stir until it turns transparent.
Pour in 3 cups cold water, salt and leave it to boil. Now it's time for some Chinese intricacies. If your stove top cools very slowly, simply turn it off. If it cools quickly though, leave the rice to saute on the lowest possible setting (about 180°F (80 °C)) and turn it off after 20 min.
Leave the rice covered on the stove and try to forget about it for another 30 min. at least.
Serve the dish garnished with the rice. The really interesting this is that 2 handfuls of products yield enough food to feed 6 people.
I guess that's the Chinese way of things.
