What to do with Kumquats? My chicken run # 2

I have Kumquats in my fridge.

A lot. I went on a little kumquat frenzy at my local market last week end.

But the trouble with kumquats is that you can never really figure out what to do with them.

Sure, they are tiny and adorable, but that won't help me to feed my hungry belly tonight.

So, I went through an extensive search in my cookbooks and magazines and finally fell on a charming little recipe that I only subtly transformed.

I used chicken instead of duck. I know. Daring.

This way, not only did I finally get rid of my cute little kumquats but I also managed to post another recipe for my chicken-run. (see my first chicken run recipe)

I'm pretty happy with myself right know ;-)

So here we go, a delicious recipe directly inspired from one of my lovely cookbooks.

Asian style Chicken with Kumquats

Ingredients for 2

2 cups of kumquats, seeded and chopped into slices

1 Tbs of brown sugar (or honey works too)

300g of chicken breasts, cut into 2 inches strips

Cooking sauce

2 Tbs of Hoisin sauce

1 Tbs of oyster sauce (or regular spring roll sauce)

1 Tbs of cornstarch

2 Tbs of Chinese 5 spice

Chili oil (or sesame oil)

1 Tbs of gresh ginger grated (or more if you like)

Half a cup of chicken broth

1 Tbs of rice wine vinegar

The way to go:

1. Combine the chicken, kumquats, sugar (or honey) and 5 spices in a jar and let sit for 20 minutes.

2. Combine the sauce elements.

3. In a wok, add chili oil an grated ginger when the pan is hot. Stir frequently on medium heat for 1 minute.

4. Add the chicken cook for a few minutes until golden brown.

5. Add the sauce, kumquats and stir until it thickens.

7. Add vinegar and scrape the pan to get all the juice of the meat. Add the chicken broth. Turn down the heat, cover pan and cook until the kumquats are soft.

You can serve this as I did with white rice. I usually add a few drops of rice vinegar to give a little twist.

Honestly this dish was easy and quick to put together. The kumquats give it a little bitter taste that is nicely counterbalanced by the sugar and Hoisin sauce but also the spicy ginger.

It's a dish I could really for a dinner party.

In that case, the best wine pairing would probably be either:

- a young Sauternes wine (hense the bottle of Cyprès de Climens, the second wine of the famous Château Climens in the background...) = nose of fruit and flowers (orange, nectarine, mango, apricot) and a little vanilla. Very round mouth, great balance and fresh fruits like oranges.

- or an Alsace region Gewurztraminer = nose of rose, exotic fruits like litchi and orange zests ; Powerful mouth, fruity with ginger and sometimes a little orangy tanginess.