One-pot crystal chicken
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- plus 1 hr cooling
- Easy
- Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, about 1.5kg (the best quality you can get)
- bunch spring onions, green and white parts separated (keep the whites for ginger & chilli oil, see goes well with)
- 2 thumb-sized pieces ginger, sliced
- small pack coriander, leaves and stalks separated
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 1 star anise
- 500ml chicken stock, or a chicken stock cube
- 200ml Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- cooked rice and Sichuan pepper, to serve
Method
- STEP 1
Put the chicken in a saucepan or stock pot large enough to fit it comfortably. Add the green spring onion parts, ginger, coriander stalks, garlic and star anise. Pour over the stock (or crumble in the stock cube), rice wine and 3 tbsp of the soy sauce, then top up with water to just cover.
- STEP 2
Bring everything to the boil and skim once. Turn down to a gentle simmer and poach for 20 mins, then turn off the heat and leave the chicken to cool in the broth for at least 1 hr. This can be done a day ahead but musn’t be chilled, otherwise the chicken will be too cold. Remove the chicken from the broth and leave to cool completely, then strain the broth, ready to pour some over the rice later.
- STEP 3
To serve, carve the chicken as if you were jointing it. Arrange on a platter, drizzle over the remaining soy and scatter over the coriander leaves and Sichuan pepper. Serve with rice, ginger and chilli oil, and some of the heated broth to moisten the rice. Any leftover broth can be frozen.
