Kylie Kwong’s white chicken recipe

We had a lazy weekend at home. On Sunday we made Kylie Kwong’s white cooked chicken recipe (bak jam gae).

Tender chicken served with some coconut rice is Sunday dinner perfection (and a bit left over for lunch too!).

This is a very Chinese dish – and I have noticed not everyone likes it. The chicken is very tender, but the flavours are very mild and delicate. Some people also get a bit iffy about the pink bones (I have never been sick from eating it and we eat it fairly regularly). In the restaurants I find the chicken is tougher and not as tender.

It takes 15 mins to throw together the ingredients for the stock. Let it simmer for 40 mins. Add chicken, steep gently for 14 mins, then turn off heat and leave in the stock with a lid for 3 hours. Dressing is a whizz – I like adding coriander to the dressing sauce and a little bit of white pepper.  Cut the chicken Chinese style – somehow it tastes better that way.

I used the recipe from Kylie Kwong’s Simple Chinese Cooking book, which we love and have made about half of the recipes. But the recipe is also here and below.

White-Cooked Chicken Recipe

★★★★★

• Prep: 15 min Cook: 4 hrs
• Servings: 4
• Difficulty: Easy

INGREDIENTS

White Master Stock

• 6 l cold water
• 3 cups shao hsing wine or dry sherry
• 8 spring onions trimmed and cut in half crossways
• 12 cloves garlic crushed
• 1¼ cups sliced ginger
• 1/3 cup sea salt

Ingredients

• 1 free range chicken
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1/3 cup finely sliced spring onion plus extra to garnish
• ½ teaspoon cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon finely sliced ginger plus extra to garnish
• 60 ml shoyu or soy sauce

DIRECTIONS

White Master Stock

1. Place all stock ingredients in a large stockpot and bring to the boil.

2. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 40 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Method

1. Rinse chicken under cold water.

2. Trim away excess fat from inside and outside cavity, but keep neck, parson’s nose and winglets intact.

3. Lower chicken, breast-side down, into simmering stock, ensuring it is fully submerged.

4. Poach chicken gently for exactly 14 minutes.

5. There should be no more than an occasional ripple breaking the surface; adjust the temperature, if necessary, to ensure stock does not reach simmering point again. Remove stockpot immediately from the stove and allow chicken to steep in the stock for 3 hours at room temperature to complete the cooking process.

6. Using tongs, gently remove chicken from the stock, being careful not to tear the breast skin.

7. Place chicken on a tray to drain and allow to cool.

8. For dressing, combine all ingredients except for peanut oil in a heat-proof bowl. Heat peanut oil in a saucepan, then pour over dressing ingredients and stir to combine.

9. With a large knife or cleaver, cut up the chicken Chinese, arrange on a platter and drizzle over the dressing.

10. Garnish with extra spring onions and ginger. Serve immediately.

Source: Lifestylefood.com.au

NOTES FROM KYLIE:

I could eat this dish four times a week – the texture is so silky and I love the savoury flavours.

The poaching and steeping technique used in this recipe is perfect for cooking chicken, as it is very gentle; the integrity of the chicken is preserved, and the result is moist, tender flesh. The heating of the peanut oil is vital to release its beautiful, nutty flavour and bring out the aroma of the soy and ginger.

Malaysian Kelantan Grilled Chicken

Uncle Nyap made this for us about a year or so ago. We loved it, so decided to dig out the recipe and make again.

A super easy and tasty meal.

All it needs is a little bit of prep. Marinade the chicken the previous night if possible. Grill for about half hour until done. The sauce is just a quick whizz in the food processor and then on the stove for half hour. Served it with stir fried broccolini an capsicum from Aunty Irene’s garden.

If you like it spicy, then double the chilli in the chicken marinade and add chille to the sauce to taste as you go.

• Prep: 15 mins Cook: 40 minutes
• Servings: 4
• Difficulty: Easy

INGREDIENTS

Grilled Chicken

• 3 – 4 chicken marylands (about 1.5 kg) jointed
• 1-2 tsp. chilli powder
• 2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp. caster sugar
• 1 tsp. white pepper, ground
• 1 tbsp. salt
• Olive oil

Sauce

• 4 fresh long red chillies, seeded
• 4 candlenuts/ almonds
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 cm piece of ginger, thinly sliced
• 3 cm piece of galangal, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 4 stalks of lemongrass, bruised, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. tamarind water
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 400 ml coconut cream
• 2 tbsp brown or palm sugar
• 1 handful of coriander, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Prick the chicken pieces all over with a fork, place in a glass or ceramic bowl and rub with combined oil, chilli powder, ground turmeric, sugar, salt and white and black pepper then cover and refrigerate for 3 hours over night.

2. For sauce, process chillies, candlenuts, kaffiir lime leaves, lemongrass, coriander, tamerind water, sugar, coconut cream, garlic, ginger, galangal and onion in a food processor until well combined.

3. Transfer the mixture into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes stirring occasionally. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little water. Season to taste with sea salt and then cool the sauce to room temperature.

4. Grill chicken over BBQ preferably charcoal or roast at 180 – 200C for 25 – 30 minutes (cooking time over charcoal will depend on the heat).

Source: Lifestylefood.com.au