Soy Sauce-Poached Chicken
serves 4-6
This recipe is adapted from Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking. A whole chicken is poached in a liquid flavored with ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon and orange zest. Then the chicken is cut into serving pieces and broiled to crisp the skin.
2 cups shao hsing rice wine (or sake or dry sherry)
10 cups water
2 cups soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
15 black peppercorns
10 garlic cloves, crushed
10 (2-inch) slices ginger
6 green onions, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
1 teaspoon sesame oil
10 star anise
4 cinnamon sticks
10 large strips orange zest
1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds), rinsed and trimmed of excess fat around cavity
prep: 30 minutes
total: 4 hours
large stock pot (with lid)
tongs
carving knife
broiling pan
ladle
1. Combine everything except the chicken in a large stock pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, lower the chicken breast side down into the pot. Bring the broth to a bare simmer. Simmer the chicken this way for 15 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat, cover, and leave the chicken alone for 3 hours.
3. After 3 hours, preheat the oven to 500F. Remove the chicken from the broth. Put the pot of broth over medium-low heat.
4. Cut the chicken in half through the breast bone and back bone, then carve it into pieces. Arrange the pieces on a broiling pan. Put the chicken in the oven and broil until the skin is crisp and the meat is warmed through, 5-10 minutes. Serve with the warm broth.
