Chicken with Sweet-and-Sour Sherry Sauce

Name: Chicken with Sweet-and-Sour Sherry Sauce
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1/2 cup oyster or shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped (shiitake stems discarded or reserved for stock); 1/4 cup sliced shallot; 2 teaspoons honey; 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or good-quality wine vinegar; 1/3 cup dry (fino) sherry; 1 cup meat, chicken, or vegetable stock; 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1 1/2 pounds); Salt and freshly ground black pepper

December 20, 2011

Chicken breast are so bland that they demand something—a spice rub, a salsa, or a strong reduction sauce. If you start with strong-tasting solids and add a variety of bold liquids, reducing each one to a syrupy consistency, you end up with an intense and complex reduction sauce. The process can involve esoteric ingredients and procedures, or it can be quite straightforward, like this one, which is direct, quick, and easy, especially considering that the result is a dark, complex sauce that can be used in many ways (see the variations).

Recipe notes

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