Zero Oil Chicken, Dried Oyster, Mushrooms & Sea Cucumber Stew

~ Zero Oil Chicken, Dried Oyster, Mushrooms & Sea Cucumber Stew ~

Does this sound like a Chinese New Year dish to you? I cooked this exact same dish during the Chinese New Year as an inclusion in my all-time favorite “Poon Choi”. The wonderful thing about this dish is that you may keep any leftover in the fridge and it will only be more delicious when reheated. So, I typically cook up 2 portions sufficient for 2 family meals, one consumed immediately and another 3 days later. It is sort of like killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

Speaking of zero oil, there has been a trendy argument in the recent years that “fats are good” and we should not at all eliminate any fat in our daily eats. What is your view? The vast variety of terms related or describing fats, ranging from unsaturated fats & saturated fats, trans-fat & non-trans fat, good & bad fat, LDL & HDL cholesterols, animal fats & plant based fats, have all become more complicated than ever. I am hoping readers understand these healthy and unhealthy fats and it is important that we consume the right type of fats, at the right amount according to our individual body’s needs.

When I mentioned zero oil cooking, I meant no additional cooking oil added to the cooking. I do not eliminate the fact that our human bodies need fats. In fact, fats are so important in children for brain development. You see all formulated milk labelled “Essential fats for Brain development” etc. The crucial part for me or I would rather think it is the rule of thumb, which is also my shortcut from analysing further on which food is good or bad, I opt to savour the most natural fat possible without additional oil added to my daily cooking.

Meat cooked in its original fat, without cooking oil added and within the temperature of 100°C are naturally tasty and juicy. A meat stew like this one is simply succulent, effortlessly, when cooking is done with the right temperature. Therefore, no additional cooking oil but all natural fats in my home-cooked meals. Without the unnecessary cooking oil added, we have more capacity to consume the healthier types of fat as we wish.

Zero Oil Chicken, Dried Oyster, Mushrooms & Sea Cucumber Stew Recipe (Serves 6) :

1. 600 grams Chicken Thigh (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
2. 10 Large Dried Oysters (cleaned)
3. 15 Chinese Mushrooms (soaked)
4. 250 grams Small Sea Cucumber (soaked)
5. 5 cloves Garlic (mashed)
6. 1 inch Ginger (thinly sliced)
7. 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
8. 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
9. 100ml Water (to dilute the oyster sauce)
10. 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil to boost aroma (optional)
11. 1 stalk Chinese Parsley for garnishing

AMC Healthy Cooking Method :

1. Add mashed garlic and sliced ginger into a 24cm 3.5 litre Pot unit.
2. Preheat on Navigenio with heat level “3” up to 50°C or “Meat Window”. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place on lid knob/Visiotherm, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”.
3. When Audiotherm beeps indicating readiness for browning, turn off both Audiotherm and Navigenio. Add cubed chicken pieces, dried oysters, mushrooms and sea cucumber into the Pot unit. Then, pour diluted oyster sauce into the Pot unit. Cover Pot unit with lid.
4. Switch on Navigenio to automatic “A”. Turn on Audiotherm, place on lid knob/Visiotherm on lid, indicating 97°C or “Steam Window” and set 30 minutes to cook.
5. When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio and Audiotherm. Garnish with Chinese parsley and a drizzle of sesame oil. Serve hot.

Tips : The habit of reducing a tablespoon of cooking oil in each meal for just 5 cooking a week saves you approximately 31,200 calories a year. That is equivalent to 148 walking hours!