Peking Chicken With Mandarin Pancake Food

MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Place flour in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water in a thin stream while stirring with chopsticks or a wooden spoon. It helps to set the bowl in a heavy saucepan lined with a dish towel to keep it stable, or a friend stabilize the bowl as you do this. Add the cold water in a thin stream, continuing to mix the whole time. Stir the mixture until it turns into a shaggy ball, then dump the ball out onto a lightly floured work surface.
• Knead the dough with your hands until it forms a smooth ball, about 5 minutes. Cover the dough ball with a damp dish towel and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to a couple hours.
• Roll the dough into a log roughly 10 inches long, then cut it in half crosswise. Line up the two small logs, then section each one in 6ths to form 12 pieces (for approximate 8-inch pancakes); in 8ths for 16 pieces (for approximate 7-inch pancakes) or in 10ths for 20 pieces (for approximate 6-inch pancakes).
• Roll two pieces into smooth balls between your hands, working with one piece at a time. Then, using a rolling pin or wine bottle, gently roll each of the two pieces into circular disks about 1/4-inch thick. (You'll cook two pieces at a time and proceed through the end of Step 7 before rolling out the remaining balls.)
• Brush the top of one disk with a thin, even layer of oil, then stack the second disk on top. Using a rolling pin, roll the stacked disks into a 6- to 8-inch circle. The size will depend on the number of balls you made in Step 3.
• Heat a cast-iron, carbon steel, or nonstick skillet over medium until a drop of water flicked onto the surface immediately bubbles and evaporates (about 2 minutes), then add the rolled, stacked disk. Let cook on one side until blistered and browned in spots, about 1 minute. Flip and cook until second side is blistered and browned. Sometimes the pancakes will bubble up with steam as they cook, preventing the second side from making good contact with the pan. You can gently press down on them with a flat spatula if this happens.
• Remove the cooked disk, then carefully peel it apart into two thin pancakes while still hot. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean dish towel.
• Repeat Steps 4 through 7 for the remaining dough balls, adjusting heat as necessary to make sure the pancakes brown in spots but don't blacken. Finished pancakes should be served while still warm. To store leftovers, place the pancakes on large squares of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then roll them up like a jelly roll and refrigerate. Reheat covered in the microwave, or briefly heat one at a time in a hot, dry skillet.

PEKING-STYLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pare the zest from the orange in thick strips then mix with the soy sauce, sherry and fivespice powder in a large food bag. Bash the garlic cloves and ginger with the back of a knife to bruise them, then add to the bag and give everything a good mix. Put the chicken in the bag, rub the marinade all over the flesh then leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hrs, overnight ideally.
• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Remove the chicken from the marinade (keep it for later). Halve the orange and put both halves inside the cavity along with the bashed ginger and garlic from the marinade. With the chicken sitting on a rack in the sink, pour a kettleful of boiling water over it. Pat completely dry with kitchen paper. Set the chicken on its wire rack over a roasting tray and roast for 50 mins per kg or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
• Strain the marinade into a pan along with the honey. Bring up to the boil then simmer for a couple of mins. Just before serving, turn the oven up as high as it will go. Brush some of the marinade all over the chicken. Return to the oven and cook until the chicken is crisp and browned. This will only take a couple of mins. Leave to rest, uncovered, for 5 mins. Serve with the remaining warmed marinade, some plain rice and bok choi or spinach stirfried with a little garlic and oyster sauce.

MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour and boiling water, starting with 3/4 cup. Begin stirring it immediately, adding a little more water at a time until a shaggy dough forms.
• Knead the warm dough for about 6 minutes, or until you have a smooth dough. If the dough sticks to your hands or the counter, add a sprinkle of flour.
• Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• Turn the rested dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half to form 2 balls. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll each half out until it is 1/4-inch thick.
• Use a cookie cutter or trace a glass or mug with a knife to cut out 3-inch circles of dough.
• Use a pastry brush to brush 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil over the top of 2 dough circles. Lay one pancake on top of the other, so that the oiled sides are together. (Don't worry if one of the edges hangs over the other.)
• Roll out the pancakes together to form a 6-inch circle. Continue with the remainder of the pancakes. Use a damp towel to cover the prepared pancakes and keep them from drying out while preparing the remaining dough.
• Heat a nonstick or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat. Add one of the pancake pairs and cook until browned on both sides-about 3 minutes altogether; the second side will cook more quickly than the first side.
• Remove the paired pancakes from the pan and pull them apart while they are still hot. Cover to keep warm. Continue with the remainder of the pancakes. Serve immediately.

PEKING CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well.
• Reserve 1 cup hoisin sauce mixture; set aside.
• Cut chicken diagonally across the grain into thin slices.
• Add chicken to the remaining sauce mixture in bowl and stir well.
• Cover and marinate in refrigerator up to 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Remove chicken from bowl; discard marinade.
• Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and place over medium-high heat until hot.
• Add half of chicken; cook 5 minutes or until done.
• Remove chicken and set aside.
• Repeat procedure with remaining oil and chicken.
• Warm tortillas.
• Spread 2 tablespoons reserved hoisin sauce mixture down the center of each tortilla.
• Arrange one-eighth of chicken slices and 2 tablespoons green onions down the center of each tortilla; roll up.

PEKING CHICKEN WITH MANDARIN PANCAKE

Steps:

• CHICKEN: Using the tines of the fork, prick holes through the skin and meat of the chicken. This allows for the marinade to seep through. Combine all the rest of the ingredients and marinate the chicken breasts for up to 4 hours.
• Slice the cucumber into very thin julienne strips. Slice the green onion stalks into very thin julienne strips. Soak both the cucumber and the onions in 1 cup of ice cold water. Drain very well before serving.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the breasts, discard marinade, and pat the chicken very dry, especially the skin side. Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in large oven proof fry pan on high heat. If you don't have an oven proof fry pan, just transfer the chicken to a roasting pan or baking sheet. When oil is hot, place chicken, skin side down in the pan. Fry until the skin is golden and crisp, about 3-5 minutes. (tip: don't move the chicken when you are frying it. just leave it alone and let it fry to crisp up).
• Turn skin side up and place oven proof fry pan in the oven for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing really depends on how thick your chicken breasts are. I always use a quick read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken breast- it should be 160 degrees. Move on to the making the pancakes in step 5, while the chicken is in the oven.
• PANCAKE: Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and water in a large bowl. Stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes).
• Shape the dough into a 1 1/2-inch-thick log. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each dough portion into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Brush 8 pancakes evenly with oil. Top each with one of the remaining pancakes, gently pressing together.
• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 1 pancake stack in pan, and cook 1 minute on each side or until slightly puffed. Remove from pan, and cool. Peel pancakes apart to make 2 pancakes.
• TO SERVE: Remove chicken breast from the pan and let rest on cutting board for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed, carefully cut the chicken breast with the sharpest knife you own, into thin 1/2" thick slices, keeping the skin intact.
• TO EAT: I typically serve this family style at the table and let everyone make their own. Place 1 pancake in the palm of your hand or on a plate; slather on Hoisin sauce, add 3 slices of chicken, a few cucumber strips and some green onion shavings. Roll the pancake up and chow down!