Hi All

A local Chinese restaurant here had a dish called Grandfather Chicken. The restaurant has gone out of business but I found their recipe online in the Sunday supplement of the local newspaper. For those interested, here is the link to the recipe: Grandfather Chicken.

The dish does not look too difficult, but I have been unable to find chili paste and cherry juice locally. Looking online, I found a recipe for chili paste and some mailorder businesses offering cherry juice as a medicine for arthritis, but I really don’t need a large amount of either one.

Can anybody here share any experience with either of these ingredients? Does anybody have any idea where to find either ingredient? Or an idea for substitutes like cayenne pepper or cherry brandy?

Thanks

George,

How about asking for "just some" of those ingredients at an Oriental restaurant that you frequent?? There is one restaurant that I still go to even though I've moved to another town. They know that when I order their dumplings that I will ask for extra dipping sauce. They are SOOOOOOOOO nice there!! One time they gave me some Almond Cookies, still in their original and unopened package!:D
Just explain to them that you would love to make a particular dish and you are having difficulties locating two ingredients. Not only might they give the paste and juice to you, they might want to try adding it to their menu!:wink:
Give it a try; you never know!8)

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-Laura C
*my cakes*

Hi George - I'll look for those two items today while I'm out. Maybe an Asian market. Be back later.

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- BarbaraMc

George, look for an asian grocery store near you, they will have chili paste. If the store happens to be Chinese, ask them to suggest what to use for cherry juice. I use chili paste a lot, however, have never used cherry juice.
Regina

I agree with the other posters - if you have an oriental store (or an Indian or such) in your area, you should be able to find several brands of chili paste. In my area, it is also available in almost every supermarket (I live in a town of just under 60,000)

Re cherry juice; could you try the juice from maraschino cherries?

Recipe sounds good.

George,
In some resturants that dish here is called Orange Chicken,Or is very simular. That recipe is on www.topsecretrecipes.com or www.copykat.com

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God Bless Pam

George, six CUPS of corn starch? You sure that's not a typo???

Hi Carol
It may be a typo. The quantities in the directions seem consistent, though. I'm not going to make that much anyway. I only need to feed 2 not 6, so I need 1 pound of chicken (probably less) and 2 cups of cornstarch to coat it and thicken the sauce.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. There is an area across town called "Chinatown". There are shops and restaurants there. I'll go over there and see what I can find. There have been gang shootings in that area, but the merchants are quite sensitive to the situation and really don't want customers scared away. We'll see what happens!

When (IF!!) I find everything, I will try it and post a review here. Thanks again for your ideas.

Hi George, I just read Carol's comments and I looked at the recipe and I agree with her, that is an unusual amount of corn starch. I lived in Hong Kong for several years and took a lot of Chinese cooking classes, and have never used more that a few tablespoons of corn starch. I've looked through my books and cannot find anything that approaches such a large amount of corn starch. When your in Chinatown, check with the shop keeper, show them the recipe, they are usually very good and can offer tips on making your dish. I would also check with the newspaper regarding this recipe and the ingredients listed.
Good Luck, Regina

George, did you have any luck with the recipe? I tried it, and I don't think it came out right.

I never found the right cherry juice, so I haven't tried the recipe. The restaurant closed several years ago, so there is no help there. I found the chili paste in a market in Chinatown, but they were no help with the cherry juice. Not many local restaurants offered Grandfather Chicken, Bamboo Garden was one and Moon Gate in the Mirage was another. When MGM bought the Mirage, they changed the restaurants. So my search has hit a dead end.

I have two questions. Did you use 6 cups of cornstarch? What did you do about the cherry juice?

I think you could use almost any batter for the fried chicken and could also use tilapia or cod or even shrimp instead of chicken. All the flavor is in the sauce. I'd still like to try it.

George, have you tried health food stores? Cherry juice is one of those really good for you juices and some people drink it for arthritis. I'm thinking you could find it there.

That does sound like enough corn startch to thicken a swimming pool! But it is talking about dredging 3 pounds of chicken in 5 cups of it, so you wouldn't be actually putting all of it in the dish, right? That makes the chicken fry up nice and crisp. But even 1 cup to thicken the sauce seems way excessive to me.