Kumquat Chicken with Kumquat Hoisin Sauce

Pan fried Kumquat Chicken drenched with a sweetish Kumquat Hoisin Sauce and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Perfect with rice.

Kumquats are winter fruits that start appearing in the grocery stores in late November through March. This year, they seem to be a little late but I was delighted to see them and promptly picked out two bags. These tiny, bright orange oval fruits have a sweet rind and a tart flesh. They can be eaten raw and are pretty refreshing. I usually cut them in half to remove the seeds before popping them into my mouth. Kumquats can also be candied, made into marmalade and preserves, pickled, or cooked with meats for a citrusy flavor.

The Golden Orange

The name kumquat is derived from the Cantonese gam gwat which means “gold orange”. These fruits are considered auspicious and the shrubs are often used as ornamental plants during the Chinese (Lunar) New Year. Back in Malaysia, the kumquat shrubs have larger and rounder fruits and are mainly ornamental although they are edible. I do not remember ever eating the fruit from the tree. We only ate the candied ones imported from China. These are sometimes mixed with water to make a tea thought to help sooth sore throats.

Kumquat Sauce

Kumquats combine really well with chicken and pork. I like to make a sauce with them and pour it over pan fried meat medallions. The kumquat sauce is also wonderful poured over grilled or roasted meats.

For this Kumquat Chicken recipe I initially made it with pan fried boneless, skinless, chicken thighs. I then made a quick and simple Kumquat Hoisin Sauce to pour over the sliced, pan fried chicken thighs. This time round, I used chicken breasts cut into ¼ inch thick slices which I left whole after pan frying. It is good with chicken thighs or breasts. Love the way the dish turned out!

There weren’t too many kumquats in each half pound bag. I ate a few and used a few kumquats for this recipe and used the other bag for a Pickled Kumquat recipe coming up next. I do enjoy kumquats very much and went back to the store several days later and they were all out of them. They said that they will bring in more this week and so I need to go back there to check. I want to make Candied Kumquats and Salted Kumquats this time.

Similar Products Used in Making This Kumquat Chicken with Kumquat Hoisin Sauce

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Traditional Heavy Gauge Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok (14 inch, round bottom)
Traditional Carbon Steel Wok, Hand Hammered (14 inch, round bottom)
Carbon Steel Hand Hammered 14 inch Flat Bottom Wok (Gauge – 1.2mm)
Carbon Steel Wok 12-inch, flat bottom
Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok (12 inch, rRound bottom)

4.50 from 2 votes

Kumquat Chicken

Pan fried Kumquat Chicken drenched with a sweetish Kumquat Hoisin Sauce and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Perfect with rice.

Author : Linda Ooi

Course : Main Dish

Cuisine : Chinese

Keyword : kumquat chicken

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings : 4

Calories : 389kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 20 oz chicken breasts * cut into ¼ inch thick slices (560g)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 6 kumquats (thinly sliced)
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 green onions (thinly sliced)

Marinade

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp ground Szechuan pepper
• ¼ tsp salt

Sauce

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp corn starch
• ¼ cup water

Instructions

 

• Marinade chicken with soy sauce, Szechuan pepper, and salt for 20 minutes.
  
• Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
  
• Heat up wok or large fry pan. Add 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Place chicken thighs in a single layer in the pan. Fry 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cook through.
• Remove and arrange on a plate. When cool enough to handle, slice into ½-inch strips, if desired. Cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm.
  
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in the same wok or in a small saucepan. Sauté mince garlic for 20 seconds. Pour in sauce mixture. The sauce will become thick and bubbly very quickly.
• Stir in sliced kumquats and immediately turn off heat. Add sesame oil.
  
• Pour sauce over cooked chicken. Sprinkle sesame seeds and sliced green onions on the top.
  
• Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

*You can also use 20 oz/560g boneless skinless chicken thighs, if preferred.

Nutrition

Calories: 389kcal

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NOTE: The original publication of this post was on December 12th, 2012. This republication comes with minor changes to the writeup and recipe.