April 2017 - Homecooking DOTM (Inaugural Edition) - CHICKEN AND RICE

Thanks, @TheCookie. Maybe you’re making some version of chicken and rice, too? Let us see it?

@StoneSoup, also look up Hainanese chicken rice.

Doesn’t matter which variation each country has, I love this way of cooking and eating chicken. Besides, bbq’ing it of course. With garlic and chillies… (see my face below)

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Hi @Presunto -

[quote=“Presunto, post:48, topic:8972”]
Maybe you’re making some version of chicken and rice, too? Let us see it?
[/quote]Yes, I’m trying to decide what I’ll make. I love chicken and have sooo many recipes - mostly made up in my head :grin:.

I have a question for any of you. If you have dried cherries or cranberries, etc., do you plump them in water before you cook with them or just throw them right in, like you would a salad? And yes, this has to do with chix & rice :wink:.

Thanks!

I always plump dried fruit and berries , and also dried seafood, and mushrooms.

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or the Khao man gai @Mr_Happy cooked above, its just the thai version of the same dish.

Saw it also. I put it here in case @emglow101 or anyone else wants to see what it looks like.

Singaporean version is a bit different but all variations look delicious to me. Didn’t know any better when I was in Singapore. The heat and humidity ruined everything for me then. I might be willing to face it again just to eat some meals there.

I jump in late with my Chicken and mushroom hot pot rice or clay pot rice as traditionally they are cooked on a charcoal fire in a clay pot. I like this cooking as the chicken is usually silky smooth. I like to use chicken thighs are they are smoother than the breasts. (Personally, I like to leave the skin on, but you can get rid of them). For the mushrooms, I think personally I preferred to slice them. A chef suggested that it would be more delicious if leaving it as whole. The pork sausage is not a must if you couldn’t find them.

This recipe serves 4.

5-6 mushrooms were soaked with water an hour before cooking, I preserved the mushroom water for the rice cooking.

The 4 chicken thighs (deboned) was marinated at least half an hour before cooking with 2 tbsp of soy sauce, sugar, 2 tbsp of hua tiao rice wine, 1 tbsp of minced garlic, 1 tsp of minced ginger, 1 tbsp sesame oil, pepper and 1 tbsp of corn flour

Proportion of rice to water is about 1:1 with cold water on stove. To cook faster, you can soak the rice before hand for half an hour and use boiling water to cook (reduce water) I use the mushroom water, wine and a bit of sesame oil for cooking the rice.

I added the 2 Chinese pork sausage when water was nearly absorbed by the rice. (Actually in the pict, I added slightly too early, the end result of the sausage, the skin colour was a bit “washed” on the first photo, but not the case in the last photo, the second time.

When the water was almost absorbed, add the chicken and cook 10 minutes more. I add the soy sauce at the same time (soy sauce + wine + sesame oil), some people would prefer to add when the rice is ready to be eaten. I read from a professional that there is virtually no difference between the 2 case.

I tried 2 methods of cooking, the first time in a cast iron pot on the induction hob, you can see a nice crust formed in the bottom of the pot. Sublime if you love that.

For the second try, I have used a clay pot in the oven. Started from a cold oven and temperature raised to 180ºC/360ºF. While the cooking is nearly identical, no crust was formed unless I think you put the pot directly at the bottom of the oven.

Maybe one day, I will buy the authentic clay pot and try it on a BBQ fire.

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Love the Frugal Gourmet (not the Frugal Gourmet) boiled chicken. I do it like you, which is a bit of a shortcut (sometimes requiring another boil). I mean, who has time to watch a chicken that long? But great for Hainan Chix recipes. Even the white meat is super moist.

Here’s the slightly confusing, but original FG recipe:
Fill a large kettle with water, and bring to a boil. (An 8 quart pot two-thirds filled with water works great for a 2 1/2 - 3 pound bird). When the water boils, place the whole cleaned chicken into it. When the water stops boiling, take the chicken out. Cover the pot, and when the water again boils, place the chicken back in the pot. Cover the pot, and turn off the heat. Leave the chicken in the pot and the pot on the burner. After 1 hour the chicken is done. Remove and cool.

Happy Chicken Boiling!

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Ummm… Wow? I can see why you’re here @Bookwich. They’re not playin’.

That is so incredible. I want to come over for dinner, please.

Is the clay pot a donabe pot? I’ve been kind of lusting for one of those lately, but am not sure how they work. I keep thinking it will explode, or crack apart dramatically, or something.

[quote=“Bookwich, post:56, topic:8972”]
I keep thinking it will explode, or crack apart dramatically, or something.
[/quote]me too.

Thank you. You should try it, it’s easy. And you can also some pak choi in the last 5 minutes to make it a 1 pot dinner.

Mine is a Tajine style pot, the clay pot part without glaze, the cover is ceramic. I use it upside down to cook this recipe. The clay pot is completely soaked in water at least 15 minutes before using. Also, instruction said to start cooking with a cold oven, to avoid temperature shock that will crack the pot.

The donabe pot is Japanese, but it will do the job. The Chinese authentic pot should be this, it’s cheaper than the dobate pot. Always immense in water before each use to avoid cracking. A new pot need 24 hours soaking.

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Try La Chamba Pottery made in Columbia
You can buy it on line from La Toque or from W Sonoma ( limited supply)
I have 3 of the serving bowls but do not have a bean or soup pot .
It can be used on top of the stove, on your butane burner and grill as well as over direct fire.
I love it, but it does get some effervescence initially. The way to prevent it is to oil the pot if you do not like the whitish effervescence.
These is advise from Santa Fe culinary school who apparently uses it a lot in their demo.

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I don’t recall all those steps, but wonder if I have it in my old paper file of favorites. I’ll take a look when I have some time when I have a moment. It was always cooked through, and very velvety and juicy, as you say.

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Yep… I saw someone make it on tv years ago. They said it was Jeff Smith’s (Frugal Gourmet) recipe. Then I scoured the internet looking for the recipe. His recipes weren’t easy to find online at the time (he had passed away and was so disliked in his later life). But the recipe I posted is the one that comes up the most in a search. I made it that way for a while, but it’s kind of a pain. Now I do it like you and it comes out well.

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I used small French chickens to make these 2 things. Both have ginger and spring onions in the poaching liquid.

Didn’t know this one needed more time so I put it back in the soy broth for a long while. The colour got much nicer. Anyone has tips for getting the colour without destroying the skin? The skin will burst the longer it is cooked, even at extremely low temp.

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Use dark soy sauce mixed with light soy sauce.

I did. It takes more time, half of it sitting in the marinade. I didn’t use any recipe. This time I’m following most of the instructions in this recipe (An Australian publication, “The food of China”). Marinating chicken thighs right now.

(If anyone wants to see the recipe I will make clearer photo of it.)

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Hi @Presunto -

Looks beautiful and delicious. I dig your photos.

What makes the skin burst?

I can kind of see how you tucked the legs, but did you do any tucking or trussing with the wings? It looks perfect.

If you’re still offering; I would like a better view of the recipe. It looks like a nice twist with a kick to the shoyu chix I normally make.

Thanks!

Yup, here too. You are trying to test our eyesight!

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Click on image to enlarge, then click again for full size.

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