Calling All Chinese Cooking Experts!

[HearMeSnore]

It's a long shot, I know, but I'm looking for advice.

Very occasionally, when visiting Chinese restaurants, I have come across the delicacy that is chicken in yellow bean sauce. Sadly since moving to a different region it has become almost impossible to come by so I'm trying to find out how to make it myself.

A few places locally offer a version of it but none of them resemble the dish I loved, being either thin and watery or very spicy. I remember it being rich and intensely savoury, but not at all spicy. And despite the name "yellow bean", the sauce was brownish red. And it usually had nuts in it (cashew or almond seemed to work especially well).

I found a jar of something called yellow bean paste and have tried to make my own with the help of Google but it just tastes like very thick, extra-salty soy sauce. I've had no luck so far with it but my experience of Asian cooking is very limited.

Does anybody know how to make it? Does anybody even know the dish I mean? Nobody I know seems familiar with it and I'm starting to wonder if I dreamed it.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiLh8vcpLn-AhXxoFwKHXYkCUMQwqsBegQIBxAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DI2D53bskfpY&usg=AOvVaw39X6FJ6_a4fdZ18Rq7Wyxi

I hope that link works ok, I love Chin on YouTube, I make loads of Chinese dishes now much to the detriment of my waistline!

(If it doesn’t work Google Ziangs food workshop - I’m not very tech savvy) 🤦🏽‍♀️

I've never heard of this dish. Can you describe what it tastes like and what's in it? Maybe it goes by a different name. Is the chicken fried, poached, or shredded? Does the sauce have things in it other than beans and nuts? And when you say nuts, do you mean pureed nuts like cashew or almond butter or whole nuts or crushed nuts?

I don't have a recipe but have had this many times from more than 1 restaurant! I used to live in central London and now further out in the Sth East- both places have it on the menu!

I always thought it was a hoisin base, but have see an actual yellow bean paste at a Chinese grocery before.

I'm not sure if there are any good, as haven't tried them:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lee-Kum-Kee-Crushed-Yellow/dp/B003WC7WPY/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Yellow+Bean+Sauce&qid=1682022952&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/450g-Pack-Crushed-Yellow-Sauce/dp/B01EX15OAW/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Yellow+Bean+Sauce&qid=1682022952&sr=8-5

This is taken from my old London menu (much more expensive than where I am now!) You are correct that its cashew nuts!

74. Stir Fries with Cashew Nuts in Yellow Bean Sauce Cooked with diced vegetables in special yellow bean sauce

A. King Prawn (8)
£8.60
B. Chicken
£7.90
C. Beef
£8.20
D. Roast Pork (Char Siu)
£7.90
E. Roast Duck
£8.30
F. House Special
£8.60
G. Squid
£8.40
H. Tofu (Fried Beancurd)
£6.90
I. Mock Chicken
£7.20
J. Mock Duck
£7.00

This seems to be exactly the dish you described - brownish red, no spice, contains nuts. The description says it is "without a hint of heat, and its deeply savory and sweet sauce shines through".

https://www.latimes.com/recipe/shandong-style-stir-fried-chicken-yellow-bean-paste

I'm so pleased! I too have been trying to replicate chicken with cashew in yellow bean sauce.

It's intensely savoury , quite dry rather than gloopy. A dark yellow- almost mustard coloured.

With water chestnuts ideally!

@PoppyGG That's the exact recipe I tried first! I followed it exactly, but used cashew nuts instead of walnuts.

It didn't taste right, sadly. It was overpowered by the Shaoxing wine and very, very salty.

I tried again without the wine and kosher salt but it was still way too salty. Maybe my yellow bean paste isn't the right type? Or maybe it is, but I shouldn't be adding soy sauce as well?

It seems like there's a flavour missing, though. Something smooth or even sweet to balance out the salt a bit? I can't work it out.

@cooknwithbaby It's possible it has another name but if so it's not commonly known. It seemed to be widely available around London and the South. Since moving to the Midlands it is far less common and if I do find it, it's never quite how I remember it.

The flavour is hard to describe. It's strong but not spicy, just very rich. Sticky but not sweet, and quite thick. The vegetable content varies from restaurant to restaurant; sometimes there'd be shredded carrots or spring onions, sometimes little cubes of water chestnut.

Reduce the yellow bean paste by half and add a to tablespoon of honey to balance it out. There's a lot of salt in yellow bean paste.

Also needs a lot of garlic in the recipe.

@HearMeSnore

I could have written this! I had the exact same glorious dish the first time I went to a decent Chinese restaurant in London and it has stayed with me ever since.

I have ordered what I was going would be this many times over the years and it never comes close. Yes - brownish, watery and underwhelming

Continuing my quest, I decided to try and recreate it at home a couple of months ago with yellow bean paste that I ordered on line. Sadly nothing like the one we are thinking of. I am watching this thread with interest. Do let us know if you manage to recreate it!

@HearMeSnore btw I still live in London and can't find it here either. It's on the menus but it's just not the same.

Is this any good? He uses a tin of Amoy YB sauce, as opposed to paste.

There are about 20 different demos come up on You Tube if you search chicken yellow bean cashew

@ChocChipHandbag @clare8allthepies
I confess I never even thought of YouTube 
I shall investigate tomorrow...