Marinated chicken livers are deep fried then tossed with stir fried garlicky string beans, mushrooms and quail eggs. A ketogenic diet friendly recipe.

Chicken liver stir fry with string beans, mushrooms and quail eggs

The key to this recipe is time. The first part consists of patience and the second part is about working fast. You need an at least an hour to marinate the chicken livers to allow the seasonings to penetrate to the thickest part of the organ.

Then, you cook the livers over intensely high heat for a very short time. The high heat creates a crust on the surface of the livers while the short cooking time ensures that they get cooked all the way through without drying out. Overcooked chicken livers have a terrible mouth feel. The best illustration I can think of is wet cardboard.

So, never overcook chicken livers especially if you’re trying them for the first time. I know people who never learned to appreciate them because of a bad first experience.

Chicken Liver Stir Fry

Recipe by Connie Veneracion

Stir frying requires very high heat and a cooking oil with a high smoking point. You also need a good pan (a wok is traditional for stir frying) that is thick enough to withstand the heat.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Marinating time 1

Total Time 1 20

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Servings people

Print Recipe

Ingredients

500 grams chicken livers cleaned and each cut into 2-3 pieces depending on the size
¼ cup light soy sauce
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
cooking oil
1 ½ tablespoons finely minced garlic
250 to 350 grams string beans (yard-long beans) broken into 2-inch lengths
6 button mushrooms thinly sliced
20 to 24 quail eggs hard boiled and shelled

Instructions

Place the chicken livers in a glass bowl. Sprinkle in the pepper and pour in the soy sauce. Mix well. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.
In a wok or frying pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least two inches.
When the oil starts to smoke, drain the livers (reserve the marinade) and dump into the hot oil.
Fry, stirring occasionally, until a light crust covers their surface, about two to three minutes. Be careful not to overcook them.
Scoop out the chicken livers and move to a plate. Set aside.
Pour off the oil leaving only about tablespoonful. Reheat.
Over medium-low heat, cook the garlic until aromatic, about a minute.
Throw in the string beans, turn up the heat and stir fry for about half a minute.
Pour in the reserved marinade and continue stir frying for another minute or two.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the string beans; stir fry for 30 seconds.
Toss in the quail eggs.
Pour in about two tablespoons of water, cover the wok or frying pan without turning down the heat and let everything cook in the steam for about a minute.
Put the chicken livers back into the wok or frying pan. Stir fry until heated through.
Serve the chicken livers and string beans stir fry immediately.