I am sure that it has not escaped your consciousness that most of the recipes shared in ‘In Good Taste’ are based on experimentations. It seems fitting given that it is the weekend and you can plan ahead during the week for your own adventures in the kitchen.
Don’t be puzzled by the “twice-cooked chicken”; it is in keeping with the practical nature of naming our dishes, we tell it like it is, in this case, the chicken is cooked twice. First, it is poached with fragrant aromatics and then pan-seared. As I write this, there seems to be a trend developing here – preparing 1 ingredient and subjecting it to various applications.
Poaching chicken allows it to develop flavour (by the addition of herbs and spices to the poaching liquid) while at the same time allowing the meat to remain moist and succulent. Once poached, the chicken can be made into a salad or be added to a salad, stripped and used for Fried Rice or Chowmein, deep fried, baked, roasted, eaten as is or be pan-seared. The liquid when strained is saved to use as stock/broth, made into soup or used for sauces and gravies.
I poached a whole chicken because I wanted the breast meat to use in a chicken and potato salad. The legs just begged to be browned and the skin firmed up in some way so I opted to pan-sear them. In other words, to cook the chicken legs on high heat to add colour and texture to the outside while keeping the insides juicy and tender.
For this recipe, you do not need to poach a whole chicken; you can use whole legs (thigh and drumstick attached). What is very important is that the chicken is seasoned well, not just with salt but also flavoured with aromatics. The contents in the poaching liquid will be the only seasoning that the meat will get.
INGREDIENTS
For poaching:
● 4 whole chicken legs, washed and patted dry to remove excess water
● 1 whole star anise
● 1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
● 3 cloves garlic, crushed
● 1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
● 1 x 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, halved
● 1 small fresh/dried bay leaf
● 2 whole cloves
● Salt to taste
● Water
For pan-searing:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
For poaching:
1. Add all the ingredients for poaching to a large pot, cover the chicken with water, then cover the pot and set on high heat. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat to low and let cook 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the thighs.
2. Turn off heat and let the pot cool until warm enough to handle.
3. Remove the meat by shaking off the excess moisture; pat dry. Strain the liquid and reserve for use as stock/broth (discard the aromatics).
For pan-searing:
1. Add oil to a large shallow frying pan and heat until almost smoking.
2. Layer legs into pan, skin side down (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan). Use a large spatula or your hands to press down firmly on the chicken so that all over the skin can make direct contact with the pan. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until brown and crisp. Flip the chicken over and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes to brown the chicken.
Remove from pan, garnish with sliced green onions and serve hot or at room temperature.
NOTES
To keep the skin crisp, serve immediately or keep warm in a low-heated oven.
To really press down on the chicken to get the sear, use a heavy bottomed pan (such as cast iron) by resting it directly on to the chicken (make sure the bottom is clean or cover with foil). Or wrap two clay bricks in foil and rest directly on the chicken to weight it down.
