@msolga,
Ok, ok, I'm braising as we speak.
This is my source - and read the comments, since I'm riffing off of a comment on using this recipe with braising.
http://bitten.dblogs.nytimes.com/?s=soy+poached+roast+chicken&search.x=12&search.y=7&search=Search
The original recipe on the blog -
Soy-Poached Roast Chicken
Yield 4 servings
Time 40 minutes
You can serve the chicken straight out of the stockpot with the liquid as a sauce, but I like to finish it in a hot oven, where it develops a crispy, dark brown crust that takes roast chicken to another level.
Ingredients
3 cups mushroom-flavored soy sauce, or any dark soy sauce
3 cups mei kuei lu chiew or any floral off-dry white wine, like gewurztraminer or muscat
2 star anise
1 14-ounce box yellow rock sugar, crushed, or 1 cup white sugar
3 ounces ginger (about a 5-inch knob), cut into slices and bruised with side of knife
10 scallions
1 chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
Method
1. In stockpot or narrow 6-quart pot, combine soy sauce, rice wine, 2 cups water, star anise, sugar and ginger. Bring to rolling boil. Add 6 scallions. Lower chicken gently and slowly into liquid, breast side down.
2. Bring back to boil, and cook steadily for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and turn chicken over. Let sit in hot liquid 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, trim and mince remaining scallions and preheat oven to 500 degrees.
4. Carefully remove chicken from liquid, and put in skillet or roasting pan. Roast 5 minutes, or until nicely browned; keep an eye on it -- it can burn easily. Meanwhile, reheat liquid. When chicken is ready, carve and serve with a few spoonfuls of sauce over it. Put minced scallions into a cup of sauce; pass at table to go over white rice.
Note: You can reuse the liquid -- it improves with each use -- although I would strain it and replace the ginger, scallions and star anise each time, adding extra liquid. I also recommend freezing it between uses, or refrigerating it and bringing it to a rolling boil every few days.
The comment that inspired me to braise -
3. April 30th,
2008
1:16 pm
I am really interested and look forward to trying this with the final roasting. I make a close version of it with much less liquid and proportionally less other ingredients, increase the cooking time and treat it as a braise. I also like to spike it with a few szechuan pepper corns.
" Posted by Michael Z
So, I have this frying chicken, 4.73 pounds, much bigger than the recipe calls for
- I also have no star anise, nor any 5 spice mix (which has anise in it) - I do have cinnamon and cloves and peppercorns, though not szechwan; have some fennel, what the hell, I'll add a smidge of each.
- my soy sauce has no mushroom flavor that I know of - but I do have some dried porcini
- I don't presently have real ginger root but I have some candied ginger, and some pickled ginger.
- nor am I interested in making the braise all sugary.
So...
I put two cups of soy sauce in my pot, along with two cups of cheapo chardonnay and two cups of water.
I drop in the previously soaked porcini (1), 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp peppercorns, 3/4 tsp fennel seeds, 3 pieces candied ginger and no other sugar. And ten scallions, no problem there.
I bring all this to a boil. Add the chicken. Add more water to just about cover the chicken. Turn the flame down, but not yet way low, just for a bit to warm up the chicken. Then turn it down to simmer, and so it goes. I figure it'll take a while to cook down; not sure if I'll to the short roasting bit or not. Chicky already looks and smells good.. (even I can smell it and I've got a lousy sense of smell).
)
