Marinated chicken livers are deep fried then tossed with stir fried garlicky string beans, mushrooms and quail eggs. A ketogenic diet friendly recipe.
This is an updated recipe. Back in 2006 when I originally posted it, I had never heard of ketogenic diet. Although no one in my family is on keto diet, it helps to categorize this recipe in a way that is more “today” than 2006.
In the old recipe, the chicken livers and string beans were cooked a la adobo. And while it was an absolutely delicious dish, I have tweaked it into something better. Veering away from the traditional adobo ingredients and cooking procedure, I omitted vinegar and modified the cooking process.
The chicken livers are marinated in soy sauce and ground black pepper and left to sit in the fridge for an hour. The livers are drained and deep fried in very hot oil until browned and lightly crusted but still almost pink inside.
The oil is poured off leaving only about a tablespoonful. Chopped garlic is sauteed until fragrant, the string beans are added, the heat is cranked up and the beans are stir fried for half a minute. The chicken liver marinade is poured in and the beans are allowed to partially cook in the liquid.
Sliced mushrooms are added to the partially cooked string beans and stir fried for about 30 seconds.
Hard-boiled quail eggs go in next.
A couple of tablespoonfuls of water is poured in, the wok is covered to allow the string beans and mushrooms to cook fully in the steam while giving the quail eggs a little time to absorb the color and flavors of the marinade.
Finally, the deep fried chicken livers are tossed in and everything is stir fried together just until the livers are heated through.
The most essential thing to remember in cooking chicken livers and string beans stir fry is to avoid overcooking any of the ingredients, especially the chicken livers. Not only do they taste awful when overcooked, they also tend to have a nasty mouth feel when allowed to turn dry from overcooking.
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken livers cleaned and each cut into 2-3 pieces (depending on the size)
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce I used Kikkoman
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- cooking oil
- 1 and 1/2 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.
- Return the chicken livers to the wok or frying pan. Stir fry until heated through.
- Serve the chicken livers and string beans stir fry immediately. Omit the rice if on keto diet.
Cook’s Notes
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 28 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes 
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That’s yummy…. if you like chicken liver. I do — chicken, beef, pork, veal, goose, duck… basta liver. How about doing a dry adobo with both? :grin:
yah, that would be good. maybe fry the liver though to form a crust while the inside is just cooked…
:razz: Sassy, i want to share you a recipe of chicken gizzard and liver that serves as garnished to salads! Yummmmm
Marinate dem livers in sherry or port wine first… wow!!!
I like this innards specially when cooked similar to bistek. In our place, Las Pinas, sa tapat ng RFC, may nagbabarbekyu nito. Kick-ass…
Is it in your blog, relly? Love ko rin gizzards. :)
wabbitga, wow, i can smell it. makabili ng sherry. :grin:
Trosp, I think the sweet-salty marinade of our barbeques is really good for removing the “lansa” of innards.
i just add bit of lemon soya salt and pepper to my marinate then bingo hot pan agad.. talap 2am na droool
i like liver kaya lng minsan lang ako magluto ng puro liver lng sahog kac ako lng nakain nun d2 :(
Thanks Connie for sharing this recipe. I also love chicken liver and gizzard kaya lang iilan lang ang recipeng alam ko na ingredient ito, ngayon nadagdagan na.
LOL Sha, when I bloghop late at night ganyan din feeling ko. :razz:
iska, my kids don’t like liver either. :sad:
lani, you make adobo with gizzard and liver, right? i grew up with that dish. :)
hi connie, i made this one today and i just loved it! i cooked the liver longer though, cuz i don’t like to see blood in my dinner and also i was going to give it to my 1 yr old daughter so i didn’t think a bloody liver would be good for her. I used green beans though because from where i live they don’t grow sitaw. Pero masarap pa rin!
this is another variation of ways to cook chicken liver. i will try to do this at home and try to make it spicy.
hello! i was just wondering how many people this recipe can serve. Can it serve 4 people? Or is the amount for less? Thanks. :)
Ari, unless otherwise stated, recipes here are good for 4.