Stir-fried Chicken Livers
yield: feeds 2-3 people, depending on what else is served, or one person who is married to a liver loather, with leftovers.
Preparation time: The entire dish can be on the table in ten minutes.
one pound/464 grams chicken livers, preferably organic
3-4 tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil
about four tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons mushroom or regular soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon white pepper (black is fine if you don’t have white)
1-2 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Optional ingredients:
3 tablespoons potato or cornstarch, for dusting
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
Or
1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
To finish the dish:
A drizzle of Chinkiang vinegar,
or
Brown rice vinegar
or
sesame oil
Instructions
If you are making rice, start it now.
Before cooking the chicken livers, place them in a colander and rinse under cool running water. If any livers have green bile sacs, gently remove with scissors, a small sharp knife, or your fingers. Avoid breaking them, as the bile is extremely bitter and unpleasant to eat. Chicken livers occasionally have bits of fat here and there; remove if you want. Pat livers dry with paper towels before cooking.
If you are not dusting with corn or potato starch, skip the next paragraph.
If you are dusting livers with potato or cornstarch, spoon three tablespoons potato or cornstarch in a shallow bowl–I use a pasta bowl–and dredge the livers in it. They won’t be perfectly coated. That’s okay. Leave livers in bowl while you ready wok or pan.
Set up the wok or large frying pan. Turn on the exhaust fan, if you have one. Heat wok over high heat, then turn down the heat to medium high. Add the peanut oil. Allow oil to heat for about thirty seconds, then pour the wine down the side of the pan. Stand back, as wine likes to spatter. Add soy sauce, garlic, scallions, and ginger, if using. Stir-fry for about a minute, then add the chicken livers and Sichuan peppercorns or red pepper flakes, if using. Stir-fry for about three minutes. Livers are done with pink within. Test one by cutting in half if you aren’t sure; turn heat down under pan while checking, as livers can overcook in a flash.
Taste for salt and soy sauce, drizze with Chinkiang vinegar, brown rice vinegar, or sesame oil, if using, and serve.
Chicken livers are delicious with rice and any stir-fried vegetable; I made stir-fried long beans with this, which both of us ate. Sliced, pan-fried summer squash are abundant at this time of year (I write at the end of August) and pair well with this dish, too.
Chicken livers keep, refrigerated in a covered container, up to four days. While you can freeze cooked livers, the texture suffers.
Note:
Chicken livers are highly perishable. Cook or freeze them within a day of purchase. If you freeze chicken livers, defrost them in the refrigerator, and cook within 24 hours. Keep livers refrigerated until the moment you cook them–don’t keep them hanging out on the counter for hours.