Chinese Almond Chicken

Chinese Almond Chicken is a local dish served at every Chinese food restaurant in Detroit, Michigan. It comes as several names including Detroit Almond Chicken, ABC Chicken (which is redundant because the C stands for “chicken” and Almond Boneless Chicken.

 

Whatever you call it, it is certianly a Chinese-American dish. 

What is Almond Chicken?

Chinese Almond Chicken, aka Detroit Almond Chicken, ABC and Almond Boneless Chicken, is a dish with fried chicken and mushroom gravy served over iceberg lettuce.

The request for Detroit Almond Chicken was from my dear friend Nathalie. Born and raised in a suburb of Detroit, she raves about Detroit Style Almond Chicken. Although served year round, this dish is also a Christmas Eve tradition in the region. 

Nathalie has been trying to get our two friends, who also hail from the Detroit area and happen to own a Chinese food restaurant, to fess up the coveted recipe for Detroit Style Almond Chicken.

ABC Chicken and apparently there is a secret recipe for Egg Rolls that includes peanut butter, but that is another story for another time.

But It Isn’t Really Chinese At All…

As the story goes there is a man from the “old country” (China) who gave the secret recipe to the owners of the local Chinese Restaurants. He completes weekly rounds collecting a fee for this mystery recipe.

If ever leaked, they could face a penalty… or death. Sounds like a Detroit Almond Chicken mafia to me and I am not sure I believe it!

Unfortunately, she has not won the battle for the recipe to be leaked, nor would she like to see our good friends, Willis and Jimbo, be penalized, so one Friday night we decided it was “game on” for  Chinese Almond Chicken.

Nathalie and I did our homework and relied on her eyes and tastes buds to recreate the famous Detroit Almond Chicken dish and then test it against our Chinese restaurant owning friends.

The Chicken & The Gravy

For all of those not from Detroit, you are probably expecting something like I was; similar to cashew chicken, but with almonds, served over fried rice. Detroit Almond Chicken actually doesn’t taste much like Chinese food at all. It is American all they way. 

Instead of chicken pieces, it is served as a sliced chicken breast, battered and fried like southern style fried chicken. It is considered good luck to remove one of the center slices prior to serving.

The mushroom gravy tastes like brown gravy. And the big kicker? No fried rice! Although I made some as a side dish, Detroit Style Almond Chicken is served over iceberg lettuce!

I now see why Nathalie was so excited to recreate this dish. It was amazingly good. The chicken is crispy on the outside, but moist on the inside. Pure comfort food. 

Seasoned perfectly with a little sherry, salt and pepper, it allows for the mushroom gravy to take center stage. Crisp, cold, fresh lettuce is the base and complements the other hot flavors. 

What You’ll Need

Brace yourself, the list looks long, but it really just uses many pantry staples.

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast- I generally use 2-4 pieces, depending on size. Large ones can be cut into smaller, more manageable pieces. Or skip a step by purchasing thin chicken cutlets at the store.
• Salt and pepper- for seasoning.
• Sherry– A Spanish fortified wine, it is thought of as sweet, but often very dry. Because of this unique flavor profile, it is amazing in savory dishes. A little can go a long way and add immense flavor. Omit this ingredient if you aren’t planning to use it.
• Slurry- Made from water and cornstarch, it thickens the sauce while making it silky, shiny and preventing a grainy texture.
• Low-sodium chicken broth– Always use low sodium so you can stay in control of the saltiness.
• Shiitake mushrooms – Or any other mushroom blend.
• Dark soy sauce- Yes, this is different from lite soy, regular soy and the green capped stuff. This is an intense sauce that is thicker and more robust, but also less salty than traditional soy sauces.
• Unsalted Butter– There are a lot of ingredients with the potential to over salt this dish, so anytime you can reduce and control, please do so!
• All-Purpose Flour- We have not tested this recipe with any GF flours. If you do, please let us know how it went!
• Baking powder– Usually seen in baking, this powder gives the chicken batter a fluff.
• Eggs– The binding agent of the chicken batter.
• High smoke point neutral oil– Enough for 1-2 inches to pan fry. I tend to use vegetable oil, canola oil or a blended oil. Peanut oil can also be used.
• Iceberg Lettuce- This is the most traditional, but feel free to use a bed of any type of leafy greens.
• Sliced Almonds– The nut that is the namesake, it is pretty important to use. Otherwise, it is just chicken in a mushroom gravy.
• Scallions (Green Onions)– Adds a fresh crunch.
• Chinese Rice Noodles– Crunchy little fried noodles that are just as fun to eat as a snack as they are to top this Chinese fried chicken.

How to Make Chinese Almond Chicken

1. Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound breasts to approximately 1/2 inch uniform thickness. Pieces may be very large, in this case, cut in half so they are easier to work with. Making chicken a uniform thickness helps it cook at the same pace so nothing gets over or undercooked and since chicken breasts are often not uniform, this fixes it. Skip this step if you bought thin chicken cutlets at the store.
2. Place the chicken in a baking dish large enough for them to fit in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and cover with cooking sherry, you might need a little more or a little less depending on the size of your chicken and pan, but this is essentially a marinade. Set aside until ready to cook, a minimum of 30 minutes, but not more than 2 hours or you’ll have some very pungent chicken!

3. In bowl make a slurry by whisking together cornstarch with water until smooth.
4. Heat the chicken broth, mushrooms, dark soy sauce, unsalted butter and cornstarch mixture over low heat until smooth. The sauce should start to thicken and become shiny while the mushrooms cook down and infuse this basic brown gravy with flavor. Do not bring the mixture to a boil, but do whisk every 2-3 minutes while making the chicken. When it reaches a gravy consistency, remove from heat or place on a “warm” setting.

5. In dredging bowls, whisk the flour, baking powder and eggs. This mixture will be very thick. If it is so think you won’t be able to dredge chicken through it, add a small amount of milk or water, but make sure it isn’t too watery, you want it to stick to the chicken. Place salt and pepper seasoned flour in the other dredging bowl.
6. Preheat the oven to warm setting and place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. This helps air circulate around the cooked chicken and the bottoms to not get mushy from sitting in oil.
7. Heat 1-2 inches of vegetable oil in a large heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat or 325°F using a deep fry thermometer. I highly suggest using a thermometer to monitor the oil. Winging it often leads to raw chicken with a burnt exterior.
8. Remove the chicken from the sherry marinade and lightly coat each chicken breast in the flour and then dredge in the egg batter, tapping off any excess. Carefully lower into hot oil. Depending on size, chicken will take from 5-7 minutes per side.

9. Remove to a wire rack suspended over baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Continue with remaining chicken breasts. The cooking time can vary considerably depending on the heat of the oil and size of the chicken. Chicken needs to be an internal temperture of 165°F.
10. Place the chicken onto a cutting board and cut using hard strokes and a cleaver. Doing this in a large hacking motion prevents the batter from coming off the chicken. And it’s fun.
11. Create a bed of iceberg lettuce, top with a piece of chicken, mushroom gravy, scallions and Chinese rice noodles

Why Iceberg Lettuce Instead of Rice?

I’m told it started as a way to soak up extra oil from the fried chicken when plated, but since customers have started to devour it along with the chicken, it has become a staple. Topped with crunchy goodies, the textures are well balanced and palate pleasing.

Storage & Reheating

Make Ahead: As with any recipe that uses gravy, this Chinese Almond Chicken recipe is best enjoyed freshly made. The chicken loses its crisp and the gravy starts to infiltrate the crust. For this reason, please do not make it ahead of time.

Storage: But there might be leftovers and in this case, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It can be reheated in the oven at a warm temperature or in the microwave.

Freezing: I do not recommend freezing this recipe once cooked, but feel free to freeze just the gravy. Thaw in a saucepan on low heat or defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

More Asian Inspired Recipes

• Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
• Fried Rice- Restaurant Style
• Slow Cooker Orange Chicken 
• Authentic Dumplings
• Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken