Steeped Chicken Recipes

EASY STEAM CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken and salt in a bowl. Evenly rub salt into chicken. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Rinse chicken and place in a pot fitted with a steamer basket over water. Bring water to a boil, and steam chicken until juices run clear, about 30 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook until tender. Mix in garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil, and remove from heat. Scoop over the chicken to serve. Garnish with cilantro.

STEEPED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a covered 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat.
• Rinse chicken breasts.
• Add chicken to boiling water, cover, and return to a boil.
• As soon as water returns to boil, remove from heat and let stand, covered, until chicken is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), 12 to 18 minutes.
• If chicken is still pink, return it to the hot water, cover pan, and let steep a few minutes longer.
• Remove chicken from water and let cool, about 20 minutes.
• With your hands, tear chicken along the grain into shreds about 1/2 inch thick.

CANTONESE STEEPED CHICKEN

Steps:

• If the chicken is tied, undo it, then rub it evenly with the salt. Place in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. (If your pan is not large enough cut the chicken into quarters.) Add the ginger and whole spring onions. Reduce the heat and simmer continuously for 30 minutes, skimming all the while. Cover tightly, turn off the heat and leave for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. Combine the spring onions, ginger and salt in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the oil until very hot and pour over the spring onion mixture. Allow to cool. This sauce can also be made hours in advance or even the day before.
• When the chicken is ready, remove it from the broth and discard the ginger and spring onions. At this point you can leave the chicken in the broth and chill up to a day ahead. Remove the chicken meat from the carcass. Remove and discard the chicken skin. Using a fork pull the meat into finger-sized shreds. Place on a platter, sprinkle with the shredded spring onions and serve with the dipping sauce.

STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Season chicken with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic. Heat two tablespoons of oil in large frying pan over moderately high heat. Brown chicken, turning pieces once, about 4 minutes per side. Add a few teaspoons of water to skillet. Repeat a few times and then add watered flour to make a gravy. As chicken browns, add onions, cover pan and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes so chicken will stew. (Typically back home in Belize onion was the only vegetable used with the chicken, however many Belizians that are now in the Unites States add bell pepper and tomatoes to this dish.)
• For the rice and beans: Clean beans and check for stones. Put beans in a stockpot with water to cover, thyme, onions, garlic and pepper. Do not add salt at this time because the beans will turn hard. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes and adding a little water if necessary. Cook until beans have softened. Add salt, coconut milk and uncooked rice. Cover and barely simmer over low heat (milk may easily burn) for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

SEARED AND STEAMED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the oil or butter in a 12-inch skillet, and turn the heat to medium-high. After about 2 minutes, when the oil is hot or the foaming from the butter has subsided, season the chicken breasts well with salt and pepper and place them in the skillet, smooth (skin) side down. Turn the heat to high, and cook about a minute, until the chicken begins to brown. Turn the heat to medium, and cover the pan.
• Cook, undisturbed, until the chicken is firm and nearly cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. To minimize the spattering, quickly uncover the skillet, and remove the chicken to a plate. Place the plate in the warm oven.
• Over high heat, add the wine, stock or water to the pan, and stir and scrape to release any bits of chicken that have stuck to the pan. When the liquid has reduced by about half, add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about a minute. Add the capers, olives and all but 1 tablespoon of the parsley, and cook a minute more, stirring occasionally. Return the chicken to the sauce and turn once or twice. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, and serve.