CHINESE COOKING: Hua Diae--a yellow wine made with glutinous rice--is a particular favourite wine to use in cooking chicken. Hope you'll like this traditional Cantonese recipe.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CHINESE HUA-DIAE WINE花雕雞:

 

 

 

 

1 small chicken, weighing less than 2 lbs, with neck (head too), if available

seasoning for skin:

    1-2 tsp. salt

    2-3 tsp. liquid honey

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. Hua Diae rice wine

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3-4 slices ginger, slightly crushed

2 stalks green onions

1 cup chicken stock

2 tsp. good quality dark soy sauce

1 tsp oyster-flavoured sauce

cooking oil

 

 

 

Wash chicken thoroughly. Hold chicken by the neck and dunk it into a large pot of boiling water, dragging body across the boiling water; then remove. After this, immerse chicken in boiling water for a few moments to shrink the skin. Remove from heat. Hang chicken up in an airy area for half an hour to drain out all the liquid from the cavity and to dry the skin.

 

Transfer chicken to a plate. Use the salt to rub the cavity, and the honey to coat skin all over the chicken.

 

In a Chinese clay pot--large enough to hold the chicken--placed over medium-high heat, heat 2 tbsp. oil until hot. Sear & brown chicken, sticking a wooden spoon into chicken cavity to turn it over, until golden brown on all sides. Remove chicken from pan. Add in garlic, ginger and green unions. Stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in 1/2 cup of the rice wine altogether with chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce and whatever honey is left over on the plate. Bring mixture to the boil and return chicken to the pot. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes, turning chicken with the wooden spoon from time to time during cooking. Test for doneness at this point by sticking a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh. If juices run clear, chicken is cooked. Turn off heat.

 

Remove chicken from pan and let it sit on chopping board for 5 minutes before cutting it up into serving pieces. Strain sauce, return it to pan and bring to the boil. Add remaining rice wine to sauce; then pour it over the chicken to serve.