Hainanese Chicken Rice

Almost every country in Asia with a history of Chinese immigrants have their own version of chicken rice. Chicken rice originated from Hainan provence in China during the Chin Dynasty. Hainan chicken was one of the four main Hainan dishes along with Jiaji duck, Dongsan goat and Hele crab. The dish remain the most popular Hainan dish till the day, specially in Southeast Asia. When the Chinese started migrating to different counties in South East Asia around the 19th centuries, they've brought their own culture and cuisine into the community and over time with the influence of the local ingredient and culture, often the cuisine becomes it's own unique flavor.

Fusion food these days seems to have a bad rep as the word 'authentic" has been tossed around the food industries a lot. But I've often find that some of the most delicious meals are actually fusion food  influenced by more than one culture. Because not only the flavor become much more rich and complex, but most importantly we are eating a piece of history. A history which was molded and changed overtimes with the influence of different culture.

If you've ever looked recipes for Hainaese chicken rice, you may find it confusing because the sauce varies from recipe to recipe. The is because the dish is really popular in Southeast Asia and each country has their own sauces and condiments to go with it. In fact, the famous Hainanese chicken rice we all know today is actually the Singapore version of chicken rice and not the original Hainanese chicken rice. The Singapore style Hainanese chicken we love in Taiwan which is the recipe I'm sharing this week is served with two sauces - the ginger and scallion oil and the sweet and spicy soy sauce. And because this is how we serve it in Taiwan, this may actually add on an extra layer of fusion tailored to the Taiwanese taste. Non the less, it's it unique and delicious.

In the past, I've shared recipes for Taiwanese chicken (turkey) rice, Vietnamese chicken rice and Thai chicken rice. Which actually was all just dependence of Hainan chicken rice. This week I'd like to share the most famous chicken rice of all chicken rice - The Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Ingredients:
Serves 4 people

4 chicken thighs with bone and skin on
1 1/2 C jasmine rice
3 1/2 C water
3 scallion
5 slice ginger
4 gloves garlic
1/2 shallot
1 t salt
1/4 t sugar
2t soy sauce
1/4 t chicken stock paste or 1/4 bullion cubes

For the ginger and scallion oil:
3T canola oil
3T chicken stock (from cooking the chicken thighs)
1T minced ginger
3 scallions
1/2 shallot
1/4 t sesame oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t white pepper

For the sweet and spicy soy sauce:
1 small hot pepper
1/2t minced garlic
1/2t minced ginger
2T soy sauce
1 1/2 T sugar
3 T chicken stock (from cooking the chicken thighs)

Directions:
Start by cleaning and washing the chicken thighs. In a large pot, poach the chicken thighs for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until the chicken is no linger warm. This will give the chicken it's signature and unique springy texture.

Place the chicken back into the pot along with 3 1/2 C water, 2 scallion, 4 slice ginger, 2 gloves garlic, 1 t salt, 1/4 t sugar, 2t soy sauce and 1/4 t chicken stock paste or 1/4 bullion cubes. Let it come to a boil and turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile you may prepare the rice. Wash and rinse the rice two to three times until it's no longer starchy, then soak it in cold water.  Mince 2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 shallots, set aside while we wait for the chicken to be cooked. Once the chicken is done, drain the chicken while saving all the stock form cooking the chicken. Brush the chicken with some sesame oil so the skin doesn't dry out. Traditionally at this point we will soak the chicken in ice water, and that will intensify the firm and springy texture on the skin, I'm not a big fan of the jelly like texture on my chicken so I usually skip this step, but if you would like to honor the tradition, soak the chicken in ice water until ready to serve, and yes the chicken is served cold.

In a large skillet heat up 1T canola oil and cook the minced garlic and shallot for one minute until you smell the aromatics. Drain the rice well and toss the rice in the skillet and stir fry it with the garlic and shallot for two minutes. Remove from heat and transfer the rice in to the pot which we've cooked the chicken in along with 3 C of the reserved chicken stock, 1 slice of ginger and 1 scallion. Let it come to a boil and turn the heat down to low, let it gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

While we are waiting for the rice to be cooked, we can prepare the two sauces. To make the ginger and scallion oil. Heat up 3 T canola oil along with 1T minced ginger and 1/2 shallotin a small sauce pan. Once it come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in finely chopped 3 scallions 1/4 t sesame oil, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t white pepper and 3T chicken stock reserved from cooking the chicken. Set it aside and let it cool.

For the sweat and spice soy sauce, slice up one small hot pepper, you may cut that in half if you don't like the heat. Mince 1/2 t worth of both garlic and ginger. Mix the hot pepper, garlic and ginger with 2T soy sauce, 1 1/2 T sugar and 3 T chicken stock reserved from cooking the chicken.

Once the rice is cooked, Remove from heat, fluff it with a fork and cover it up, let it sit for five minutes before serving.

To serve, chop chicken into larch strips with bones on. Place it onto of the rice, drizzle a little ginger and scallion oil on top and serve it with the two sauces on the side. You may with dip the chicken in the sauce or just pour both sauce right on top of the chicken and rice. 

Lamb Rendang

Throughout the history, human beings have figured out ways to prepare and preserve food based on the climate and their way of life. A dish can say a lot about a culture and it's history. Rendang is a dish originated  from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia . Dated all the way back to the 16th Century. The dish was created prior to the invention of refrigerator in order to keep a large amount meat for a longer period of time. The word rendang refers to the method of slow cooking meat. The dish later became popular around South East Asia specially in Malaysia, which is actually where I first heard about this dish.

Rendang is often being confused to be another type of curry dish. But this is a dish with a strong Muslim influence rather than your typical Indian influenced curry. I like to refer it as a dryer or Muslim version of Curry but with a even more complex flavor. Curry or rendang, it is a delicious pot of stewed meat with a deep flavor richened by the spices and slow process of cooking. It also happened to be one of my favorite dish to make whenever we have guests coming over for dinner.

As the weather is finally getting warmer I thought I'd share one last stewed for the season. This one pot meal will surely not disappoint you. Here's my version of a Malaysian lamb rendang.

Ingredients:

1 lb lamb
1 onion
3/4 c water
2 tomatos
2 lemon grass
3 cloves
2 bay leaf
1/2 t coriander seed
2 cardamon pods
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 unsweetened shredded coconut
1 carrot
1 potato

For the Rendang paste:
3 garlic
2 shallot
5 slices ginger
2 hot pepper
1/2 lime
2 lemon grass
1/4 c cilantro
1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t curry powder
1/2 t turmeric 
1/2  t garam masala
1/4 t ground cumin 
1/2 t cayenne pepper
3/4 c water
 





Direction:
Start by caramelizing the onion, this should take about 10 to 15minutes. Traditionally, a rendang does not require caramelized onion. I've stole this step from the base of making curry. A good curry always starts with some caramelized onion to give it a naturally sweetened flavor. I've find that adding in the caramelized onions really gives the rendang an extra depth of flavor.

While you are waiting for the onions to be caramelized, you can make the rendang paste. You may be intimidated by all the ingredients, but do not worry, all you need to do is combine all the ingredients and blended into a pastes with a blender or a food processor. Set aside.

Note: Even though the rendang base has coconut milk in it, you will not taste any coconut flavor in the out come and this will not taste anything like you typical coconut flavored curry that are commonly served here in the American Thai restaurants which I am not particularly a big fan of. Because of the long cooking processs, the coconut milk will eventually be evaporated but it leaves behind a creamy texture and some natural sweetness to the dish. And I cannot stress enough, go for the full fat canned coconut milk or else you will not be able to get the same result.

 

Cut lamb into bite size chunks and season with a little salt and pepper.  You may subsitute lamb with beef if you wish. In a large heavy pot or dutch oven on high heat, sear the lamb in batched with 1T oil until their are nice and brown, this should only take 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Remove from pot and set aside. 

In the same pot, Heat up 2 T oil and stir in the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamon pods. cook on high heat for 30 seconds. This is also a method I stole from Indian curry, you may skip this step if you don't have these ingredients, but if you do and you are feeling adventurous, I highly recommend doing so, again this would just give the rendang some extra something to it.

Quickly stir in the rendang paste. Cook the paste for 30 seconds to one minutes until it's a little thick and you can smell the aromatics.

 

Dice up the tomatoes and add in the pot along with the caramelized onions and the seared meat. Then add in the water , two lemon grass and the unsweetened shredded coconut. The shredded coconut is what gives rendang it's signature texture. Once it comes to a boil, turn it down to the lowest heat and let it slowly cook for at least three hours.

I thought I use this column to show you  how to prepare lemon grass as I've often get ask by people the question. You really only want to use the bottom of the stem, the leaves don't have much flavor at all. What you want to do is smash the bottom of the stem with the back on your knife so the flavors can be release while it's cooking in the stew.

 

In the last thirty minutes of cooking, Cut up the potato and carrot into bite size chunks, toss in the rendang and continue to cook until they are tender. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste and it's ready to serve.

 Rendang is commonly served with glutenous rice, I like serving mine the Malaysian style with coconut rice. To make the coconut rice, all you need to do is cook jasmin rice the same way you usually do, but substitute half of the water with coconut milk, season with a little salt and chicken stock, cook it with 1 lemon grass and 2 pandan leaves you can find them at the Asian market but you may skip the leaves. 

Dak Bokkeum Tang ( Spicy Braised Chicken)

Korea has a pretty similar weather to Maine. Cold and long Winters therefor a shorter grow season for fresh produce. Thus we eat a lot of hardy root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, and of cause a lot of fermented and preserved food to get by the Winter. In the past few years, kimchi has became a star in the western world as a "superfood" because of it's fermentation process, not only it becomes more flavorful but also has some great health benefits. Many people sees kimchi as the flavor of Korean cuisine. Although it is true that we do eat kimchi almost every single meal, but the real flavor which think defines the flavor of Korean food is gochujang. Gochujang is the underdog of Korean fermented food, it is a spicy chilly paste made from demented sticky rice and soybeans. 

It's almost hard to describe the flavor, it's savory and spicy but also sweet and the same time. Because it is fermented, it could take a little time to get used to the smell. If you go to Korea, no matter if you are in the city or in the country side, you will often see jars and jars of earthen pots sitting on people's front step or off their balcony. Chances are those are homemade gochujang. I assume those are usually older people who lives their as the younger generation like in many cultures don't really follow these traditions these days. I remember my grandmother's balcony always has a pungent smell, every few days, my grandmother will open up one of the pots to taste her gochujang as it is fermenting. While kimchi only takes a week or two to ferment, gochujang can take up to over a year until it's ready. 

If you've been following my column for a while, you may have noticed that each time I share a Korean recipe, it usually calls for gochujang, and unfortunately there rarely is a substitute for it. I thought I make it a statement in this column to let you know that if you really are into making authentic Korean cuisine, gochujang is absolutely a pantry staple that you must have in your refrigerator. Much like soy sauce and sesame oil for Chinese cuisine. Gochujang can be used just as a hot sauce on it own, but it's great for stews and stir fries and marinades. You may find gochujang in the local specialty store, however if you ever have a chance to go to an Asian grocery store, I highly recommend getting it there as it's more affordable there, and obviously you can get them real easily online as well. 

As we are heading up March hill, nothing beats a pot of warm and spicy braised meat and vegetables for dinner in the cold weather. One of my favorite comfort food my mother and grandmother always makes when I was a kid was the delicious Dak Bokkeum Tang. Dak Bokkeum Tang is a spicy braised chicken with potatoes and carrots made with gochujang. This was also one of the first dishes I've ever made when I first started to cook. Even till this day, after all the fancy and exotic dishes I've made, there's just some nights that I will crave nothing but a pot of Dak Bokkeum Tang serve with some rice, simple yet delicious and also really easy to make. This week I'd like to share with you this one comforting pot meal that will be sure to get you through the cold weather, and frankly is a great gateway dish to introduce the amazing gochujang. 

Ingredients: 

Serves 2 to 3 people

2 chicken thighs with bone and skin on

3 cloves garlic

2 onion

1 carrot 

3 to 4 yukon gold potato 

2 scallions

1 hot pepper

1 1/2 T gochujang

1 1/2 T Korean hot pepper flakes

1 T brown sugar

2 1/2 T soy sauce

3/4 T sesame oil

1/4 t salt

1/8 t black pepper

2T water 

Directions:

Clean and roughly chop the chicken thighs into chunks. Place them into a heavy duty pot and add enough water to cover up the chicken. Place it on the stove and let the water come to a boil and let  boil for one minute. Drain and rinse the chicken, set aside. You make skip this step if you want to make it even easier, I find by doing this step gives the dish a much cleaner taste. 

Mince the garlic and chop onion, carrot and potatoes into big bite size pieces. 

In a bowl, mix together  the minced garlic, gochujang, Korean hot pepper flakes, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and 2T water. 

Place the rinsed chicken thighs back into the pot along with the chopped onion and carrots. Then toss in the gochujang mixture, and make sure everything is coated with the sauce. 

Cover it up and cook on medium high heat for 15 minutes, make sure to check half way though to make sure the bottom isn't burning. Meanwhile, roughly chop up the hot pepper and scallion into strips. After 15 minutes, add in the scallion and hot pepper along with the potatoes. Turn the heat down to medium and let it cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.

Serve it along with some warm white rice, and there you have the most comforting one pot meal with meat and vegetable and packed full of flavor.

Enjoy and stay warm!

For more gochujang or Korean recipes, visit www.thewayriceshould.blogspot.com

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, fell on January 28th this year and will be celebrated all throughout the next 15 days. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday celebrated among the Chinese and Asian communities worldwide. It is a holiday to celebrate new beginnings, but most importantly it’s a holiday for families to get together and celebrate health and good fortune. Traditionally on New Year’s Eve families get together to have “tuan yuen fan,” which means the reunion dinner. There are many dishes that are served during the reunion dinner and each dish symbolizes a fortune.

Dumplings are an important dish to serve on New Year’s Eve because usually the whole family gathers around the table to assemble the dumplings to celebrate cooperation. Dumplings symbolize wealth and good fortune because they are shaped like gold ingots and also look similar to little pouches filled with treasures inside. The fillings also symbolize different fortunes. The most popular dumpling fillings are pork and cabbage. Cabbage in Chinese is “Bai Tsai,” which sounds like the word for “hundred fortunes.” I have very fond memories of sitting next to my mother watching her shaping the delicious little treasures. And even though I make my own dumplings now, I still ask my mom to make dumplings every single time I go back to Taiwan just so I can sit next to her and watch her make dumplings.

To celebrate the Chinese New Year this week, I’d like to share with you my simple recipe for cabbage and pork dumplings and hope they will bring hundreds of fortunes for everyone in the coming new year.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork

1¹⁄₂ cups cabbage

2 cloves garlic

2 scallions

3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked first in water

1 Tbsp. minced ginger 

1¹⁄₂ Tbsp. soy sauce

³⁄₄ tsp. salt

¹⁄₂ tsp. sugar

¹⁄₄ tsp. white pepper

2 tsp. cooking wine

2 tsp. sesame oil

40 wonton wraps 

Directions:
Start by chopping the cabbage into small pieces. Then work ¹⁄₂ tsp. salt into the chopped cabbage. Let it sit for 20 minutes to allow the cabbage to sweat.

Prepare the the rest of the ingredients while we wait for the cabbage to be ready. Chop the garlic, scallions, ginger and pre-soaked dried shiitake mushrooms into small pieces.

Add all of the seasonings and sauces into the pork and, using a chopstick, stir the meat for a few minutes until all of the ingredients are combined and the meat breaks down and turns into a mushy texture . 

Squeeze the cabbage to get rid of the water. Mix the cabbage into the meat along with the chopped garlic, ginger scallions and mushrooms. 

Traditionally, dumpling wraps are round shaped and you can find them at the Asian grocery stores. But here in the midcoast I was only able to find the wonton wraps, which are square. In order to make the dumplings shaped like the gold ingots, we need to cut the wonton wraps into circles. The easiest way to do this is by using a biscuit cutter. But don’t throw out the scraps! You can make noodle soup with them. 

To assemble the dumplings, have some water on hand for sealing the wraps. Scoop about ¹⁄₂ to 1 teaspoon of the filling onto the center of the wrap, wet the edges the wrap and fold in half . 

Holding it with both hands, use your index finger and thumb of one hand, make a pleat and pinch it together while using your other index finger to stuff the fillings. Continue the crease/pinch motion until you’ve reached the end on the wrap. 

Grease the steamer lightly with some oil and place the dumplings in the steamer. Steam the dumplings in batches on high heat for 13 to 15 minutes. If you don’t have a steamer you may boil them for 8 minutes on high heat, though the texture on the wrap may not be as chewy using the boiling method. You may prepare them in advance and store them in the freezer. There is no need to thaw them — just steam or boil while frozen and give them an extra two minutes to cook.

Serve with soy sauce or with a little rice wine vinegar. 

Happy new year and enjoy.