Today the weather station issued an "extreme" hot signal - 34 degree. It's time for a cold dish and I made this drunken chicken wing for my lunch tomorrow in the office. Noted I used the Chinese (sweet bitter) grass (甘草) (as shown on the chicken wing). So first rinse the chicken wings and then rub them with rock salt (2 lbs with 2 table spoons). Then prepare the wine soaking soup. First boil the (sweet bitter) grass (about a few slices) and one star anise with one cup of water for about 3-5 minutes. Then pour in 1 litre of chicken broth, and half bottle of Chinese Siu Hing Wine (I used the "Pagoda" brand). Then boil it. Prepare a large amount of tap cold water in the basin. Then after the soup is boiled, add 1 table spoon of rock salt, or taste the soup to your preference. Put the whole pot into the cold water for immediate cooling. After it's close to room temperature (taking about 15-20 min.). Then put the soup into the freezer (yes, the icy cold freezing compartment) for about 40 min. to 1 hour. Meanwhile, put a large amount of water into the wok and add a few slices of ginger. Then bring it to boil. add 2-3 table spoons of Siu Hing Wine into the water. Put the chicken wings into the boiling water. boil them for about 10 minutes (or until you see the water boiled again) and don't let them boil too much. After it's boiled, turn the heat to low. Then take out the chilled soup from the fridge. Drain the chicken wings from the wok and put them into the chilled soup. Stir them a bit in the chilled soup, and then put the remaining half bottle of wine in it, and put it back to the fridge (not the freezer part this time). So this process of sudden chilling will give the chicken wings' skin very chewy. Better soak the wings for overnight or 2 nights for better taste. So why I use the (sweet bitter) grass is that it will give the sweet taste in the soup and the wine aroma will come out in a nice match with that sweet taste, esp. in the summer time. You can keep the soup for next time, but better take away the oil on the surface before you freeze the soup (yes, I put the soup in the freezer for future use). But then for the next time, you need to add more wine after you put the chicken wings in the chilled soup.
15 comments:
Oh, what a big job for this dish. You really enjoy cooking, otherwise you would not have done this kind of difficult and time consuming dish.
I just wonder if you can really eat this at your office(I mean no one will ask for the food tasting and finish your dish)?
Hi Chef Sea,
The above was also my comment. This is the dish for chef level.
Pasadena today is 110 outside. Now at home with air-con is still 89 degree.
By the way, do you know how to make the Taiwan style peanut butter(or sesame paste) cold noodle?
Thank you in the Sea. I am not sure if I can make it. your recipe is quite complicated to me. maybe better eat it in restaurant, or can I order some from you?
Thanks Stella. I think quite a number of Shanghai people can make this one, but maybe in different tastes. I have been to my friend's home and his mom made the drunken chicken and it's quite with plain wine taste and she told me she just soaked the chicken in plain rice wine. I just develop my recipe little by little and I did fail several times. Next time I will make my special "Lo Sui (滷水) Chicken Wings" which I use another Chinese herb Lo Han Guo (羅漢果). It's good to have some medical herbs and to make our food taste better while having some medical purposes. My sisters felt their throat so good after this one.
To Anonymous 4:42pm, let me know and see if I can get you some from my fridge, if you are now in HK.
Stella, about the Taiwan cold noodle, I think after I told you the ingredients, you may forget about it. First about making the noodle nicely separated, you need to use quite a lot of oil in tossing it. Then for the sesame sauce, it's all about oil. Can you find that type of egg noodle in LA specially for ready eating? Then you need to buy the sesame paste, and some salad or vegetable oil (cooked). And get some Taiwanese style sweet soy sauce, and the soy sauce paste (醬油膏). I don't remember the exact portion of all of these, but if I could guess, it should be 1 portion of sesame paste, 0.4 oil, 0.1 sweet soy sauce and 0.2 soy sauce paste and mabe 0.05 sugar, with very slight salt. Also you need to prepare some finely chopped garlic and add it with some boiled chilled water to make the garlic water (say 1 portion of chopped garlic and 2 portion of water). So it should be about 2 table spoons of garlic water. Then put the sesame sauce and the garlic water over the tossed noodle. I will also add some thin slices of carrot and cucumber to make it taste fresher.
the plate was bought in Thailand right, coz it look so Thai
Thank you Chef Sea,
Yes I agree with Anonymous that we shall just eat the drunken chicken at restaurant.
Yes Sea. "Lo Hon Koi" put in cooking. That is good for the throat. You are more and more like the HI version of "Tai Chong Kam".
Yes, Sea. We do have all kinds of egg noodles, ready to eat fried noodles, etc.... But the preparation of this is too time consuming. You are right, this is not my dish.
Nope, the plate is in a whole set with tea pot, cup, bowl given by my Japanese friend. I used to store it for some occasion. Now I think if I don't use those gift stuff, those will be dusty. So use it anyway, regardless of how precious it is.
Stella, I do agree that with some herb and food balancing our body, it's better than taking the western medicine. After I started eating beef, I don't have the small inflammation (飛滋) at the inner part of lips. I read an article about the unique B-complex of beef besides its general nutrition. The inflammation reveals your body's deficiency of certain b-complex which the beef can provide. For the Chinese, beef is a hot food but now it turned out as a misleading fact. Why beef is "hot" is the way of our cooking. Normally most people cook beef with some Chinese herbs. Actually it's those herbs making "hot". The beef itself is not "hot".
Yes Dai Chong Kam,
You are right. The Chinese doctor here said beef, if eaten properly, is not "hot" at all. And we do need to eat beef as it has lots of iron and Vitamin B inside.
I usually cook beef shank and beef tendon with White carrot(radish), plus a few "Flower Pepper" and "8 Corner", and 2 slices of "Kam Grass"(the one you put on top of the drunken chicken)to balance.
Oh, I also make water cress soup with beef shank. That is all I can make with beef besides my ox tail thing.
Stella, have you tried steamed beef cake with water chestnut or other pickled vegetable? However, for nutrition, pan fried or grilled steak is better than the shank part. There are lots of way to make beef. Like stir fried beef with tangerine peel, beef in worcester sauce, beef in golden/silver garlic...etc. Beef is also good with smooth fried egg, and tomato.
Dai Chong Kam,
No I don't have steamed chopped minced beef cake with preserved vege for a long long time as my maid cannot do steamed meat at all. Every time it came out so hard and dry and even Chris did not touch it.(If Chris sees meat and does not touch that means really bad.)
I think I will try the last dish you mention tomorrow night. It is easy to make and Chris will like it(as there is egg). We have egg at least 5 days a week(minimum).
The chicken skin seems very clean. Look good taste.
Stella, then you may try the beef cake with water chestnut. Ask your maid not to put salt in it, and put some soy sauce, cornstarch and more oil in it. Then don't use high heat to steam meat. Remember one constant rule. High heat for seafood. Medium heat for meat. Then low heat for tofu, egg.
About the beef in tomato and egg. You can ask your maid to get beef fillet and marinate it with soy sauce and sugar. Ask her to squeeze the beef with bare fingers. Then follow with some cornstarch and oil to seal it. Then put more oil to pan fry the beef at medium heat, to medium done. Take it out and use that left oil to stir fry the egg (if you want the egg to be softer and smooth - put some cooked oil in it and stir the egg before putting it in the pan). Then the egg should be 60-70% done. Finally put some ginger slices on the pan, and pan fry the tomato with a slight sprinkle of salt for a minute. Considering the tomato portion is about 12 oz to 1 lb. then put about 3-4 soup spoons of ketchup, 1.5 soup spoon of sugar and 1.2 soup spoon of vinegar. Taste the sauce to your preference. Then turn to high heat. Put the beef and egg for a quick stir and done!
Thanks Sea. I will try this on Saturday(when maid is off) before I ask her to cook. As our maid only comes a few hours everyday so I dare not let her cook new food she is not good at. As she only have 2 hours to do the cooking(3 dishes) plus making soup.
That makes me wonder if there is an universal understanding of the maids to make 3 dishes plus 1 soup in 2 hours. Those who broke this rule will be condemned or discarded..haha? My sister's maid and also some of other maids also do the same in 2 hours.
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