Chicken Legs with Black Bean Sauce

I am not a fan of chicken legs, but most of my family members love them. The recipe I will introduce today is similar to the chicken legs that is served in Chinese dim sum restaurants. I think most Asian people love the dim sum chicken legs. I can see that when my family orders dim sum, almost every table in the restaurant also orders this dish. And old tale told by my mom states that chicken legs have a lot of collagen and tendons that will help to make stronger bones. Even now, my mom, who is 88 years of age, still has most of her teeth and still eats dim sum chicken legs every chance she gets. The chicken legs dim sum is very tasty, so, after doing some searching for this recipe over the Internet, I learned how to make this dish the last time when mom visited me. It is not hard to re-create this restaurant dish at home, and the cost is just a fraction of the cost to order it in the restaurant. When you master this dish, the shock and wow effect on the faces of those whom you serve this dish is enjoyable. I receive many compliments every time because people always have the perception that only restaurants can create this dish. Now, we have this easy and tasty chicken dim sum in our own kitchens.

Ingredients:
1 ½ to 2 lbs chicken legs
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sake
3 quarts of water
1 cup oil
Sauce ingredients:
2 tbs black bean sauce

1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tbs blackstrap Molasses
1 tbs honey
1 tbs sesame oil
Other ingredients:
4 star Anise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 piece fresh ginger, Julienned
2 cups chicken broth or water
Garnishes:
4 green onions, sliced
Chili flakes

Directions:
Cut off the chicken leg talons and soak chicken legs with water, vinegar, and salt for 20 minutes.

Wash and drain well.

Bring a 3 quart of water in a pot to boil. Add sake and salt. Drop in the chicken legs and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

 Drain well (I let them sit for 1 hour because it is easier if the chicken is dried out when you deep-fry the chicken legs). The oil will not splash all over kitchen.

 

I use a Fry Daddy, a small deep fryer, to fry the chicken. Add oil and start frying the chicken until golden brown. Remove.
While the chicken is frying, mix all the sauce ingredient in a bowl.

Heat a large sauté pan or wok over medium high heat. Add 2 tbs of vegetable oil and stir in garlic and ginger. Stir and cook until fragrant. Add sauce and chicken broth.

 

 

 Bring to boil. Taste the sauce and add more soy or salt, if needed. Add fried chicken legs and bring back to boil. Cover pan partly and simmer until all the sauce is absorbed or thickened (about 1 to 2
 hour). Sprinkle with green onions and chili flakes on top and serve.

Note: I use blackstrap molasses and honey to replace the sugar part for the sweetness of this recipe for my own health purposes. You can use the same amount sugar for this recipe. You can use the wok to fry the chicken legs if a Fry Daddy is not available to you.