Chinese Feasts & Festivals. S. C. Moey
and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Rub the mixture into the chicken, then place it on a heatproof dish and set aside for 1 hour to allow the flavors to penetrate. Steam the chicken with the spring onions and ginger slices on a rack in a covered wok (see page 19) or steamer over high heat for about 30 minutes until cooked. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to cool. Discard the spring onions and ginger, drain the chicken and reserve the chicken stock, adding some water if necessary to make 1 cup (250 ml). Alternatively, you may boil the chicken by following the recipe for Homestyle White Chicken (see page 14), and use part of it as required for this recipe, reserving 1 cup (250 ml) of the chicken stock.
2 Debone and slice or chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and pack them, with the skin sides facing down, into a deep dish in 2 or 3 layers. Combine the rice wine and reserved chicken stock in a small bowl and mix well. Pour the mixture over the chicken pieces, cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When fully chilled, the rice wine and chicken stock mixture will turn into a gelatinous state.
3 Prepare the Soy Dip by first peeling and grating or ginding the ginger, then combining it with all the ingredients and mixing well. Transfer to a serving bowl, and provide individual dipping saucers for diners to help themselves.
4 When the chicken is ready to be served, lift out the chicken pieces carefully, removing traces of the gelatinous mixture (you may reserve this for use in a stir-fry vegetable dish or discard if not using). Place the chicken on a serving platter, keeping it neatly layered. Garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) and serve cold with the Soy Dip on the side.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 25 mins + overnight chilling
Cooking time: 30 mins
Crispy Fried Chicken
Given the size of Chinese families, it is not unusual to cook more than one chicken dish for large family gatherings. Crispy Fried Chicken is always a favorite because of the delicious crispness of the skin. In this recipe, it is important to dry the chicken thoroughly to get that crispness. Traditionally, the chicken is hung out to dry in the sun for several hours, but the same effect can be achieved using a hair dryer.
1½ teaspoons salt
1 fresh chicken, cleaned and dried
Oil for deep-frying
Cucumber slices, to garnish
Bottled sweet chili sauce, for dipping (optional)
MARINADE
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ginger juice (from 2 in/5 cm freshly grated ginger)
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 Sprinkle the salt on the chicken and rub well over the entire body including the body cavity. Set aside.
2 Prepare the Marinade by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. Pour the Marinade over the chicken and rub it in with your fingers. Leave it to marinate for at least 1 hour, turning the chicken over once or twice or basting it with the Marinade occasionally. The marinated chicken must be drained off all excess liquid and dried before deep-frying. Place the chicken on a rack placed over a bowl, and blow it dry with a hair dryer for 8 to 10 minutes.
3 Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat until very hot. Gently lower the chicken into the hot oil and deep-fry for about 15 minutes on each side, ladling hot oil from the bottom of the wok over the chicken from time to time, until the chicken is golden brown and evenly cooked. Remove and drain on paper towels.
4 Cut the chicken into serving pieces and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with cucumber slices and serve immediately as it is, or with sweet chili sauce as the dip.
Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 40 mins + 1 hour to marinate + 10 mins drying
Cooking time: 30 mins
Baked Stuffed Chicken Wings
In Chinese cuisine, a rose is often known by another name. The chicken becomes a phoenix, a symbol of female power. “Flight of the Phoenix” and “Winged Empress” are two of the fanciful names given to this dish. Having to debone and stuff wings sounds like a lot of trouble, but you can prepare and cook them well in advance. They taste just as good when served cold. Sliced into disks, they make delightful starters.
6 chicken wings
2 chicken breasts (about 10 oz/300 g in total), chilled in the refrigerator for 4 hours, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (yue lo)
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons oil
6 lettuce leaves, to garnish
Bottled sweet chili sauce, for dipping
NOTE: You may deep-fry the stuffed wings and they taste just as good. Mix the ground meat with ½ teaspoon of cornstarch and season it in the same manner. Stuff the meat into the wings and deep-fry the stuffed wings in hot oil over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side.
1 Debone each chicken wing by cutting around the bone at the top part of the drummette (the section with a single bone that looks like a mini drumstick) with a paring knife to detach the skin from the bone. Push the skin down to expose the meat. Carefully scrape the meat off the bone and reserve the meat. Twist the bone and rotate it at the joint until it is pulled out. Discard the bone. In the same manner, scrape off the meat and pull out the two bones from the wing blade, without tearing the skin and leaving the wing tip intact. Debone all the chicken wings in this manner.
2 Combine the chicken breast and meat from the chicken wings, and grind to a paste in a food processor. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3 Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
4 Combine the sauces, sugar and pepper in a small bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Pour half of the sauce mixture over the ground meat and mix until well combined. Divide into 6 equal portions and stuff each deboned wing with a portion of the seasoned meat using a small spoon. Place the stuffed wings on a baking tray.
5 Add the oil to the remaining sauce mixture and mix well. Brush the stuffed wings with the sauce mixture and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
6 Brown the baked wings under an electric broiler or in the oven for about 5 minutes on each side, basting with the remaining sauce mixture.
7 Serve the stuffed wings whole or cut crosswise into disks. Arrange them on a serving platter lined with a bed of lettuce leaves and serve immediately with a dipping bowl of sweet chili sauce on the side.
Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 mins
Tea Smoked Duck
Smoked duck is a specialty of Sichuan and Hunan, interior provinces which share many similarities in cooking. Deep-fried smoked duck is delicious. Apart from tea leaves, pine cones or camphor wood can also be used to smoke the bird in the wok the traditional way, or in the oven.
1½ tablespoons salt
1 fresh duck, cleaned and dried
Aluminum foil
5 tablespoons black tea leaves
2