Episode 162: Chicken

Boneless Stuffed Chicken
Chicken & Vegetable Braised in Peanut Sauce
Dilled Chicken Chowder
Pumpkin Leak & Chicken Chowder

BONELESS STUFFED CHICKEN

1 ½ cups of sticky rice - (375ml)
1 ½ cups of cold water - (375ml)
One 3 to 3 ½ pound chicken - (1600grams)
Salt

For Sauce
4 teaspoons of Gin - (20ml)
1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger - (7.5ml)
¾ teaspoon salt - (3.75ml)
1 tablespoon sugar - (15ml)
4 teaspoons oyster sauce - (20ml)
2 teaspoons sesame oil - (10ml)
2 ½ teaspoons of soy sauce - (12.5ml)
2 tablespoons cornstarch - (10ml)
½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper - (2.5ml)

Preparation time 1 ½ hours, Resting time 5 hours total, Cooking time 3 hours
Preheat oven to 325 F

5 tablespoons peanut oil for stir frying - (75ml)
2 teaspoons minced garlic - (10ml)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger - (10ml)
¼ pound boneless lean pork, cut into ¼ inch dice - (225grams)
1 ½ cups shrimp, shelled, deveined and diced - (375ml or 12 oz)
6 shitake mushrooms, diced (1/8 inch pieces)
4 fresh water chestnuts, peeled, diced (1/8 inch pieces)
4 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
5 cups peanut oil, for deep frying - (1500ml)

Chicken:
Remove the fat and membranes from your whole chicken. Wash and rinse it thouroughly under cold water. Sprinkle the outside with salt. Rinse & drain again and pat dry.

To bone a chicken, turn the chicken vertically on its trail and loosen the skin around the neck of the bird and make sure not to break the skin. Cut the wing joint on each side of the chicken and keep loosening the skin down the body of the bird. When the skin is halfway down the body of the chicken, cut along the backbone, but do not remove yet. Cut both breast bone joints and remove the entire breastbone with the meat on it.

Cut the backbone and remove it, remove both thigh joints and the thighs with the meat on them.

Using kitchen shears to cut the last piece of the backbone off -make sure you leave the tailbone in tact. Cut the drumsticks in half crosswise and remove the larger end.

Using nylon thread, sew up the neck cavity of the bird. If you have accidentally pierced the skin anywhere on the chicken you can we sew it up.

The chicken meat removed from the whole bird should be diced into ¼ inch.

Rice:
Place rice in a bowl with water and cover, wash 3 times by rubbing between your palms, rinse and drain. Place the rice in a cake pan that will fit over your wok. Add 1 ½ cups of cold water to the rice. Place a large cake rack over boiling water in wok and set your rice pan on top. Be sure that your rice pan is not touching the water. Cover your steamer and steam for 30 to 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked through and sticky. Replenish steaming water as necessary.

Sauce:
Mix all of the ingredients together - gin, freshly grated ginger, salt, sugar, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, cornstarch and white pepper.

Stuffing:
Heat a Wok. Add peanut oil and coat the wok using a spatula. When your oil reaches a smoking point, add garlic and fresh ginger. Stir until light brown. Add chicken cubes and mix well. Cook for a few minutes. Add pork and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes. The meat will be white. Add your shrimp and cook until they are pink.

Make a well in the centre of wok. Stir sauce and pour it into the well. Mix thoroughly until the sauce bubbles. Remove from heat and place it in a shallow dish to cool.

Add your cooled wok mix to large bowl of steamed sticky rice. Add chestnuts and scallions and mix well.

Stuff the chicken and the chicken skin with stuffing - careful not to rip the skin or over stuff. Sew the bird back up to look as it did before it was boned.

Place stuffed chicken into a roasting pan and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes flip the chicken and cook for another 45 minutes or until the chicken is completely browned and let cool for at least 5 hours. This process is necessary if the skin is to be crispy when it's fried.

Heat 5 cups of peanut oil to 375F. Place cooled chicken into a large strainer and lower your chicken in to the oil for 7 -10 minutes until it is golden and crisp. If you cannot submerge your chicken, ladel the hot oil over exposed areas until the skin crisps up.

Drain chicken for at least 7 minutes, place on a platter, slice it across and serve.

Serves 6
Back to top


CHICKEN & VEGETABLE BRAISED IN PEANUT SAUCE

2 cups of unsalted roasted peanuts - (375ml)
3 ¼ cups of water - (750ml)
4 ½ to 5 ½ pounds of chicken drumsticks, thighs and breast halves - (2300grams)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil - (30ml)
½ to 1 teaspoon of Sambel Olek - (2.5ml -5ml)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups diced tomatoes including juice - (500ml)
2 teaspoon salt - (10ml)
1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
1 cup turnips, peeled, halved horizontally, cut into ¾ inch wedges
1 cup yams, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces

Preparation time is 1 hours, Start to finish 2 ½ hours
Preheat oven to 325F

Place unsalted roasted peanuts into a food processor and blend until it forms a paste. Scoop peanut paste into a bowl and gradually whisk in water.

Pat chicken dry and season them with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, ovenproof, heavy bottomed skillet. Add chicken and brown on all sides. Transfer chicken to a bowl temporarily.

Discard of all but 2 tablespoon of fat from your skillet. Add onions, peppers and sauté until they are soft and beginning to brown. Add garlic and stir. Add peanut butter mixture and more water. Add tomatoes with the juice, Sambel olek, salt and browned chicken and any juices that have run off into the bowl. Cover skillet with a lid and take it to the oven to braise for about an hour.

Transfer your chicken to a bowl and cover to keep warm. Place potatoes, turnips and yams in the sauce a simmer on top of the stove until they are tender, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Spoon vegetables onto a platter and leave the sauce to reduce for another 5-10 minutes. Place chicken on the plate and drizzle reduced sauce on top.

Serves 4 to 6

Yield: 6 servings
Back to top


DILLED CHICKEN CHOWDER

3 Bacon slices, coarsely chopped
4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium leeks, sliced
1 large red-skinned potato, diced into 1 inch cubes
1 cup chicken broth - (250ml)
¾ cup cream - (175ml)
1 ½ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped - (22.5ml)

Preparation time is 45 Minutes

Sauté bacon until crisp in a deep, heavy bottomed skillet. Drain on paper towel.

Add chicken and leek to bacon skillet. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add potato and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cream and dill and continue to simmer uncovered this time until chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.

Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with crispy bacon.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 2
Back to top


PUMPKIN LEEK AND CHICKEN CHOWDER

2 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, stem, seed and cut into ½ pieces
2 tablespoon olive oil - (30ml)
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced - (680grams)
3 leeks, white parts only
1 (2 pound) pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 inch chunks - (900grams)
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour - (45ml)
2 teaspoon ground cumin - (10ml)
1 teaspoon salt - (5ml)
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper - (2.5ml)
2 ½ cups chicken broth - (625ml)
1 ear of corn, kernels removed - 1 cup - (250ml)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leafs - (15ml)
1 tablespoon fresh baby thyme - (15ml)
½ cup crème fraiche - (125ml)

Preparation time is 15 minutes, cooking time 30 Minutes

Heat oil in a large sauce pot or Dutch oven and brown chicken pieces, remove chicken and keep warm.

Add leeks and pumpkin in same pot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add flour, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add corn, peppers, chicken, broth, oregano and thyme bring the soup to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream.

Serves 6
Back to top

Recipes courtesy of Chef Michael Bonacini of Toronto's Oliver Bonacini Restaurants, including 'Canoe'; 'Auberge du Pommier'; 'Biff's'; 'Jump Café'; & 'Steakfrites'