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- Location
- West Country
This is a traditional 'boat people' method for cooking a whole chicken using the minimum of fuel and a large pot of water.
The result is a moist and tender chicken dish, no waste and no skin or fat.
You will need a medium FRESH chicken, small piece of fresh ginger root, 2-3 spring onions, a pinch of five spice if liked, salt
For the dressing - sesame oil and soy sauce
Take a whole fresh chicken and trim off the parson's nose, leg ends below the joint, the wing tips and discard.
Place in a large cast iron casserole with lid. (The largest Le Creuset oval is perfect)
Add half a teaspoon of salt, a one inch peeled chunk of ginger root, the trimmed spring onions, pinch of five spice.
Cover the chicken with COLD water.
Cover with lid.
Bring to a boil from cold. This will take twenty minutes or so. Then turn down the heat source.
Slow boil/ fast simmer the chicken for 15 minutes or, if your chicken is on the larger side, 20 minutes.
Switch off the heat source.
Leave the lid on and do NOT remove. Leave for at least 3-4 hours or until required. Your chicken will slow cook in the liquid.
Remove chicken from the pot and remove the skin, it will fall off in your hands. Using a sharp knife cut along the breast bone and pull each breast off whole. Cut down each breast into bite size slices using a very sharp knife or Chinese cleaver. If it doesn't cut cleanly into neat thick slices, you have over cooked it.
Arrange on a large plate. Serve with steamed fresh greens like Pak Choi and white boiled rice,which you have drained and allowed to rest covered, for that Chinese dry fluffy effect.
Serve with a 50-50 mixture of good quality Soy sauce (Kikoman is good) and sesame oil beaten with a spoon and left in the glass. The dressing is great on the whole meal - chicken, greens and rice. For a family meal, about a half inch of oil and half inch of soy in a glass should be enough but allow diners to add their own, obviously.
The leg meat and the rest of the bird is very easily removed and cut up and used in the meal, but won't look as attractive. Don't forget the 'oysters' on the bottom of the carcass. Any leftovers are great for a next day meal . Moist and tender, fat and skin free.
The result is a moist and tender chicken dish, no waste and no skin or fat.
You will need a medium FRESH chicken, small piece of fresh ginger root, 2-3 spring onions, a pinch of five spice if liked, salt
For the dressing - sesame oil and soy sauce
Take a whole fresh chicken and trim off the parson's nose, leg ends below the joint, the wing tips and discard.
Place in a large cast iron casserole with lid. (The largest Le Creuset oval is perfect)
Add half a teaspoon of salt, a one inch peeled chunk of ginger root, the trimmed spring onions, pinch of five spice.
Cover the chicken with COLD water.
Cover with lid.
Bring to a boil from cold. This will take twenty minutes or so. Then turn down the heat source.
Slow boil/ fast simmer the chicken for 15 minutes or, if your chicken is on the larger side, 20 minutes.
Switch off the heat source.
Leave the lid on and do NOT remove. Leave for at least 3-4 hours or until required. Your chicken will slow cook in the liquid.
Remove chicken from the pot and remove the skin, it will fall off in your hands. Using a sharp knife cut along the breast bone and pull each breast off whole. Cut down each breast into bite size slices using a very sharp knife or Chinese cleaver. If it doesn't cut cleanly into neat thick slices, you have over cooked it.
Arrange on a large plate. Serve with steamed fresh greens like Pak Choi and white boiled rice,which you have drained and allowed to rest covered, for that Chinese dry fluffy effect.
Serve with a 50-50 mixture of good quality Soy sauce (Kikoman is good) and sesame oil beaten with a spoon and left in the glass. The dressing is great on the whole meal - chicken, greens and rice. For a family meal, about a half inch of oil and half inch of soy in a glass should be enough but allow diners to add their own, obviously.
The leg meat and the rest of the bird is very easily removed and cut up and used in the meal, but won't look as attractive. Don't forget the 'oysters' on the bottom of the carcass. Any leftovers are great for a next day meal . Moist and tender, fat and skin free.
