Chinese Drunken Chicken Food

CHINESE DRUNKEN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Debone the chicken leg quarters, keeping the skin on. Keep the bones to make a homemade stock, which you'll be using in this recipe. You might be able to ask your butcher to help you with this step!
• In a small pot, add your reserved chicken bones, 2 ½ cups water, and ginger. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour (or longer). We'll need 1 ½ cups of chicken broth for the recipe. You can also eliminate this step if you want to use store-bought chicken stock.
• Rinse off your de-boned chicken and pat thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Grab 2 pieces of aluminum foil, each about 12" long. Lay each piece of chicken onto a piece of foil, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Roll up the chicken lengthwise, and then wrap in the foil, twisting both sides to form a candy-like bundle.
• Steam the chicken in the foil over high heat for 20 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the steamer for another 5 minutes with the lid tightly closed.
• Transfer the foil wrapped chicken to an ice bath, and let it sit there for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is completely cool. This step ensures that the juices remain locked in and improves the chicken's overall texture.
• Now it's time to make the brine. In a non-reactive container (I used a glass loaf pan. Anything narrow and deep, where the chicken can remain submerged, will work), add the 1 ½ cups chicken broth, 1 ½ cups shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, and goji berries. Once the chicken is cool, unwrap the chicken and place in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.v
• Slice and serve cold or at room temperature. This dish is usually served as a cold appetizer. Remember to store the chicken in the brine until serving and use clean utensil whenever coming contact with the brine and chicken. Consume the chicken within 3 days.
• Note: We did this dish with equal parts wine and broth. You can change the ratio according to your own tastes, whether you like a stronger or lighter wine taste. But beware...upping the ratio of wine can make the chicken bitter, so proceed with caution.

DRUNKEN CHICKEN NOODLES

Steps:

• Cook the noodles to packet instructions. Drain and refresh under cold water, drizzle 1 tablespoon peanut oil over, mixing well to stop the noodles from sticking, and set aside.
• Heat a wok over high heat and add the remaining peanut oil. Add the garlic, chiles, chili flakes and onions and stir-fry for a few seconds to release their aroma. Add the chicken thighs and stir for 2 minutes. As the chicken starts to turn brown at the edges and turn opaque, add the Shaosing rice wine.
• Add the mangetout, Romano peppers and carrots and toss together and stir well for 2 minutes. Add the noodles and toss well for 1 minute, and then season with the oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce with sugar; toss well for 1 minute. Garnish with the scallions and serve immediately.

DRUNKEN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons salt on the chicken, making sure to season the inside of the cavity. Leave the chicken at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of cold water to a boil over medium-high heat in a 7-quart Dutch oven. Add 2 tablespoons salt, the ginger and whole scallion. Slowly lower the chicken into the boiling water with the breast side up. Bring the water back up to a gentle boil.
• Carefully lift the chicken out using the handles of 2 wooden spoons or 2 pairs of chopsticks positioned under the wings; be careful not to tear the skin (do not use tongs as they can easily tear the skin). Lift the chicken just high enough and tilt it so all the water drains from the cavity into the pot; this allows cold water in the cavity to drain and ensures even cooking.
• Lower the chicken back into the water. Bring the water back to a gentle simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cook, covered, until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced between the leg and thigh, 33 to 35 minutes. Right before the chicken is done, prepare a large bowl of ice water.
• Transfer the chicken to ice water breast-side down; reserve the liquid the chicken poached in. Let the chicken cool for about 10 minutes, flipping it once after about 5 minutes. (The ice bath prevents the chicken from overcooking, but also helps to firm the meat and tighten the skin.) Remove the chicken, letting the excess water drain off.
• Whisk together 2 cups of the reserved poaching liquid, the wine, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Carve the chicken with a meat cleaver or chef's knife: Start by detaching both leg quarters (leg and thigh together) from the body. Chop the leg quarters through the bone into roughly 3/4-inch pieces. Cut off the wings and drumettes. Split the wing flat lengthwise to expose the meat. Cut the breast bone down the center to separate the two breast halves. Cut each half through the bone into 3/4-inch pieces. Lay the chicken pieces in a 2-quart casserole dish in a single layer.
• Sprinkle the goji berries if using around the chicken. Pour the wine mixture over the chicken making sure it's submerged; add a little more poaching liquid if it's not. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
• Serve cold, taking the chicken pieces out of the marinade and garnishing them with the goji berries and thinly sliced scallions if using.

JOI GAI -- DRUNKEN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place first seven ingredients in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to simmer, leave lid partially open, and simmer for 20 minutes. (Halfway through, at 10 minutes, turn chicken over.) Turn heat off, cover pot again and allow chicken to rest in liquid for 15 more minutes.
• Combine the wine sauce ingredients with 1/4 cup poaching liquid from the previous step. Reserve.
• Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. Remove skin and bones and slice into 1 x 2-inch pieces. Place in a serving dish. Stir wine sauce and pour over chicken. Allow chicken to marinate for one hour, refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap. Serve cool.

DRUNKEN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Remove any fat pockets from the chicken. Rub chicken with about 2 tsp. salt. Rinse the chicken under cold water and drain on a rack.
• In a 6-quart pot, or a pot large enough to fit the chicken, bring 3 quarts cold water to a boil over high heat, covered. Carefully add chicken, breast-side up, adding more boiling water, if necessary, to completely cover chicken. Cover and return to a boil over high heat. When the broth returns to a rolling boil, boil vigorously over high heat, uncovered, 17 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the surface. Remove from heat. Using 2 heavy spoons, carefully transfer hot chicken to a colander in the sink. Slowly pour 4 quarts ice water over the chicken, until chicken is warm to the touch.
• Return the chicken cooking liquid to a rolling boil over high heat. Again, carefully add the partially cooked chicken, breast-side up, adding more boiling water, if necessary, to completely cover chicken. Return to a boil over high heat, uncovered. When the broth returns to a rolling boil, boil vigorously over high heat, uncovered, 17 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the surface. Remove from heat. Using 2 heavy spoons, carefully transfer hot chicken to a colander in the sink. (The chicken should register 170 degrees when tested with a meat thermometer at the meatiest part of the thigh. If not, return to the pot and simmer several more minutes.) Slowly pour the remaining 4 quarts of ice water over the chicken in the colander, until chicken is warm to the touch. Save the chicken broth and reserve for soups.
• Place the chicken on a rack and air-dry 30 minutes in a cool and breezy room. Sprinkle the entire surface of the chicken with 3⁄4 tsp. salt. With a meat cleaver, chop the chicken through the bone into bite-size pieces, reserving any chicken juices (or disjoint into serving pieces). Place the chicken in a casserole dish and pour rice wine over the chicken. Cover and marinate 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, occasionally basting chicken with rice wine. Pour reserved juices back into the casserole.
• Meanwhile, place scallions, ginger, and remaining 1½ tsp. salt in a small heatproof dish. In a small skillet, heat oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Carefully pour hot oil over scallions and ginger. The oil will make a crackling sound as it hits the scallions and ginger. Serve chicken with scallion-ginger sauce at room temperature.

DRUNKEN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to boil. Add chicken, 6 ginger slices, 4 sliced green onions, and 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Drain chicken; place in bowl of ice water to cool. Mix 4 cups water, 2 sliced green onions, 5 tablespoons salt, and remaining ginger slices in large bowl until salt dissolves. Drain chicken; add to saltwater brine. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, mix rice wine and sugar in medium bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar. Season marinade to taste with salt. Drain chicken. Cut into 8 pieces. Transfer chicken to shallow glass baking dish. Pour marinade over. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature. Transfer chicken to plates; discard marinade. Sprinkle with remaining green onions.
• *Available at Asian markets.

MOUTHWATERING CHINESE CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a zip-lock bag. Add chicken. Marinade overnight.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a medium-sized baking pan with aluminum foil and sprinkle the bottom of the pan with salt
• Dump the contents of the bag (including the sauce) into the pan. Arrange the drumsticks so that they are not touching each other.
• Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for forty-five minutes.
• Remove the top layer of foil and turn the chicken over. Bake for an additional fifteen to twenty minutes, until the top of the chicken is nicely browned.
• Remove from oven.
• I always serve this with white rice, and pour the drippings from the chicken over the rice.