A luscious stew with low carbs and low-ish fat. The Asian eggplants have a thinner skin and sweeter taste and give the stew a lovely mouthfeel. The only fat is what little is in the chicken and a bit of olive oil – but you’d swear it had more. The savoury black bean paste makes all the difference!
Ingredients
* 6 piece Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (1 pkg)
* 2 cups (+/-) Chinese/Asian or Italian Eggplant (3 10″ eggplants), partially peeled, .5 in slices
* 1 can garbanzos (chick peas), drained
* 1 cup Onions, diced
* 1 cup Orange or Red Bell Pepper, diced
* 5 Garlic Cloves, chopped
* 2 limes for zest and juice
* 2 tsp Ginger Paste (grated fresh ginger or prepared paste in a jar)
* 2.5 tbsp Black Bean Paste (in the Asian aisle)
* 2 tbsp tomato paste
* 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
* 2 oz medium white wine
* 1 cup Chicken Broth (+/-)
* 2 tbsp Cornstarch
* 1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
* 1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
* 2 Scallions, sliced thinly
Directions
Cut up the chicken thighs into large chunks. Sprinkle with kosher salt and 5 spice powder.
Slice eggplants in 1/2 inch slices and sprinkle with kosher salt.
Dice onion and peppers. Chop garlic. Peel fresh ginger and grate 2 tsp.
Put olive oil in a hot large skillet or stock pot then add in chicken to sear – DO NOT crowd! Season chicken with s/p, 5 spice and lime zest. Scoop out the browned chicken to a holding bowl leaving the oil/drippings in the pan. Turn down heat to Med and add all the veg to sweat and soften. Season veg with s/p and more lime zest. Deglaze with white wine (or chicken stock). Check seasoning and add salt if needed.
Once veg is soft, add the chicken back in. Turn up the heat to High. Add in about a cup of chicken broth – enough to come about halfway up the veg/chicken. Mix cornstarch with some water or broth and add in. Add black bean paste, tomato paste and garbanzos. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
Cover and simmer for 15 mins. Check for seasoning and add more 5 Spice, bean paste and salt as needed and add half the parsley. Turn off heat, add more lime zest and the juice of the 2 limes. (Always add citrus juice at the end otherwise it will become bitter.)
Garnish with sliced scallions and chopped Italian flat leaf parsley. Yield about 6 servings.