Serves: 5
Chicken cooked Chinese-style may be stir-fried, deep-fried, steamed, poached, braised, simmered (both with and without soy sauce), roasted, jellied or smoked. Often it is cooked by a combination of methods: the chicken may be simmered and roasted or steamed and deep-fried. This was designed originally to shorten cooking time and so conserve fuel. It has the added advantage of retaining the bird's inner tenderness while its exterior turns quickly crisp and golden. (The hearts are split in two and spread open the gizzards are cut with horizontal slashes about 1/16 of an inch apart, then cut across, with a single vertical slash so that they open like flowers.) When properly cooked, they are crunchy, yet tender. Gizzards and hearts are also slow-cooked by braising and simmering.
Poultry is cooked both whole and in parts. One chicken can be used for several dishes: the legs and wings steamed or braised, the breast stir-fried, and the remainder cooked in congee or soup. Characteristically, every part of the bird is used: white meat, dark meat, liver, giblets, wings, back and bones.
Chicken wings, livers, gizzards and hearts are all considered delicacies.
The wings, deep-fried, simmered or braised, are eaten both hot and cold. Their meat, being close to the bone, is particularly sweet and delectable. Chicken livers are stir-fried, deep-fried or simmered. Gizzards and hearts, if scored and parboiled first, can be used in place of chicken livers in any recipe.
COOKING TECHNIQUES AND SUITABLE CUTS OF CHICKEN
* Stir-Frying (sliced, cut in strips, or diced): white meat chicken, tender dark meat also chicken livers and giblets.
* Deep-Frying (whole, disjointed, or cubed): spring chicken, 2-3 pounds also chicken livers and giblets.
* Braising (whole, disjointed or chopped in 2-inch sections): spring chicken, 2-3 pounds also chicken giblets.
* White-Simmering (whole or disjointed): young hens.
* Red-Simmering (whole or disjointed): young hens larger birds, 4-6 pounds.
* Steaming (whole, disjointed, chopped in 2-inch sections, slivered or minced): spring chickens, 2-3 pounds.
* Roasting (whole): larger birds, 4-6 pounds.
* For Soups and Congees: whole fowl, 4-6 pounds, backs and bones, also chicken giblets.
* For Chicken Velvet: chicken breast, minced.
NOTE: Spring chickens, or fryers, having little fat of their own, must be cooked in someone else's fat-that is, lard or oil-and so are used in stir-fried, braised and deep-fried dishes. Older, larger birds, being more plump, can stew nicely in their own juices and so are more suitable for slow-simmered dishes and soups.
TIPS ON CHICKEN:
Always wipe the chicken with a damp cloth. Better still, rinse the bird inside and out with warm water, then dry thoroughly either by blotting with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible, or by suspending the bird in a cool, airy place for an hour or two. This will remove oil from the skin and enable the chicken to absorb more flavor during cooking.
When browning whole poultry, always truss the bird first (see HOW-TO, "_Poultry: To truss") to make it more manageable. If you tie an extra loop on the string, you'll have a convenient "handle" for turning the bird.
Chicken cooked in soup can also be used for stir-fried, white-cut and jellied chicken dishes, provided it has not been overcooked. The meat should be firm in texture, never soft and soggy.
TIPS ON STIR-FRYING CHICKEN:
Although tender dark-meat chicken may be used for stir-frying, the white meat from the breast is best. The breast is simple to bone and easy to use. Remove the skin as well as the bones, but don't discard reserve both for soup. Slice the meat thin and cut in 1/2-inch cubes or strips.
Pork can be substituted for chicken in any stir-fried recipe. For every 1 1/2 cups of chicken meat, use 1 cup of diced lean pork and a set of diced chicken giblets. (Pork, however, needs longer cooking.)
To keep chicken from sticking to the pan during stir-frying, soak a few minutes in lightly salted water after slicing. Then drain well.
Stir-frying can damage the delicate texture of chicken meat. Instead of vigorous stir-frying, toss the chicken in hot oil for only half a minute. Then press against the sides of the pan a minute or two, until the chicken loses its pinkness. Sprinkle with a bit of sherry. Then turn chicken over and repeat.
When stir-frying cooked chicken, add it to the pan at the very end of cooking, only to heat through, so that it remains velvety, juicy and tender. If added too soon, the chicken can overcook and either crumble or become stringy.
The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.
This *Chicken recipe is from the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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