The black garlic cloves work extremely well in this recipe and truly enhance the overall flavour combinations.

We served this on a bed of Chinese steam fried noodles.

Ingredients

• 1 lb of chicken, cut into 3/4" chunks
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of white pepper
• 1 egg
• 5 tbsp cornstarch, divided
• 4 tbsp peanut oil, divided
• 1 cup sliced white or crimini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup sliced red, yellow and orange peppers
• 1/2 cup of celery, cut into 3/4" x 3/16" pieces
• 1/2 cup of rehydrated wood ear mushrooms, sliced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large black garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup sliced yellow onions
• 1 tbsp of Chinese vinegar
• 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tbsp seseme seed oil
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/3 cup green onions, cut into 3/4" pieces

Directions

1. Place the chicken chunks in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Add the egg and mix to ensure that all of the chicken is evenly coated.
2. Add 4 tablespoons of the cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
3. In a pot of boiling water add the peppers, celery, crimini and wood ear mushrooms. Lightly boil for 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables and mushrooms from the water and set aside.
4. Add the remaining oil to a wok. Heat the oil and then add the coated chicken. Stir fry 4 minutes on each side, the chicken should be golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside.
5. Add the minced garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes Stir fry for 30 seconds, then add the onion, continue to stir fry for a couple a minute.
6. Add the cooked vegetables and mushrooms. Stir fry for a couple of minutes.
7. Add the vinegar, cooking wine, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame seed oil, soy sauce and a couple of tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil.
8. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of water with the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch. Slowly add a little of the cornstarch slurry to the wok, while continually stirring. The sauce in the wok will thicken, add as much cornstarch until you reach the desired thickness of sauce.
9. Add the cooked chicken and green onions. Stir fry to warm the chicken.
10. Serve.