胜券在握的白斩鸡 (Hainan Chicken)

对于白斩鸡，向来只有在外头吃，

又或者吃亲友煮的， 从来没试过自家煮。

因为吃过很多外面卖好看不好吃的白斩鸡 ，

 亲友当中，好吃的也属少数，

老觉得这料理看似简单，

但是要达到肉质Q软，味鲜甜，

还真考功夫呢！

I've always only had Hainan Chicken at restaurants or friends' houses, but never cooked it at home before. But often, restaurants put more emphasis on appearance rather than taste, and there aren't many friends who could cook wonderful Hainan Chicken. After all, it's not easy to achieve good results when making this seemingly-easy dish!

昨天因缘，巧遇台湾阿基师，

从中获得指点，烹调了这道胜券在握的白斩鸡。

超好吃的！故在此与大家分享。

如果喜欢吃Q软，香滑，清甜白斩鸡的你，

那，就一定要试一试咯！

Due to a stroke of luck, I managed to get some fail-safe pointers from Taiwan's "阿基师" (Chef Cheng Yen-Chi) on cooking Hainan Chicken. The end results are definitely a must-share! If you love the chewy, aromatic, and deliciously fresh Hainan Chicken, then you really need to give this recipe a go!

皮Q肉软，肉质带甜，

原汁原味。 

赞！赞！赞！

这是安家父女给的评语。
Tender texture and sweet deliciousness, with the pure essence of the chicken enhancing the taste of the gravy. It's no wonder my family can't stop singing it's praises!

 

真是多一分，嫌过熟，少一分嫌过腥，

不多不少，刚刚好。

 好！

这好像跟做人一样，

不过于高调，也不至于不食人间烟火；

向来持中庸之道，智者也。
The flame has to be just right; too much and it's overcooked, too little and it's still raw. It's like the perfect metaphor to life, reminding us to not be too extreme in everything we do.

 

托阿基师的福，安家终于有了自家煮的白斩鸡。

而且是一级棒的白斩鸡。

谢谢阿基师。
With 阿基师's help, my family finally got to eat homemade Hainan Chicken. Many thanks to you, 阿基师!

食谱参考：台湾阿基师
材料：
2副鸡腿                                                          
5片姜
2棵青葱，切段
2粒八角
少许油
1500毫升水
1大腕冰块

调味料：
100毫升白米酒
  50毫升鱼露


配料：
适量芫茜，青葱

Recipe source: Taiwan's 阿基师 (Chef Cheng Yen-Chi)

Ingredients:
2 chicken Maryland
5 slices ginger
2 tufts of spring onions
2 star anis
Some oil
1500ml water
1 big bowl of ice water

Seasonings:
100ml rice wine
50ml fish sauce


Toppings:
Some coriander and spring onions

做法 Method：

1。  用一个煲，将水倒入，煮滚，转小火备用。
1. Boil the water in a pot and then turn down the flame to a small flame.

2。  用小锅，爆香姜片，青葱段和八角，然后将之铲入做法（1）的煲里，大火煮滚。（爆油则免）
2. On another stove, saute the ginger, spring onions and star anis. Once fragrant, add them to the pot in step 1. Try not to pour the oil into the pot.

3。  徐徐的加入鸡腿，盖上煲盖，转小火焖煮20分钟。
3. Slowly add in the chicken Maryland and cover the pot. Cook for 20 minutes over low flame.

4。 在大腕冰块内，加入所有的调味料，搅拌均匀。
4. Mix all the seasoning ingredients with the big bowl of ice.

5。  另外用一个大腕，盛入焖好的鸡腿，再将做法（4）全部倒入，让调味和冰快掩盖鸡腿约 10分钟，拿出鸡腿，斩块配上适量的芫茜葱，即可上桌享用。
5. Put the cooked chicken into another big bowl, then pour step 4 over it. Allow the ice and seasonings to cover the chicken for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the bowl, chop into suitably-sized pieces and serve with the toppings sprinkled on top.

鸡饭，鸡汤，白斩鸡肉，青瓜片，

完美组合。
Chicken rice, chicken soup, Hainan chicken and cucumber slices make a lovely meal.

小贴士： 

1。 焖煮白斩鸡的鸡汤，可以拿一部分来煮鸡饭，另一部分撒上芫茜葱当汤喝。
Tips:
1. Half the water that was used to cook the chicken Maryland(now a soup) can be used to cook chicken rice, while the other half can be drank as soup with some coriander and spring onions sprinkled on top.


I am submitting the post to Aspiring Bakers #28: Chicken Feast (February 2013) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker and provide a link back to this post HERE.