CHICKEN PERI PERI

INGREDIENTS

Peri peri sauce:

▢2 red peppers - sliced into large pieces

▢2 red onions - peeled and chopped into large chunks

▢120 ml (½ cup) oil, divided - (sunflower oil, vegetable oil or your favourite flavourless oil is fine).

▢1 tsp paprika

▢1 tsp smoked paprika

▢2 tsp cayenne pepper

▢1 ½ tsp salt

▢4 cloves garlic - peeled

▢2 red serrano chillies - deseeded and sliced in half

▢10 dried African birds eye chillies

▢¼ tsp white pepper

▢Zest and juice of 1 lemon

▢¼ tsp dried rosemary

▢4 tbsp red wine vinegar

Chicken

▢1 medium chicken (1.4kg-1.6kg or 3 lbs-3.5lbs) - spatchcocked

▢½ tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Place the peppers and red onion on a baking tray. Drizzle on 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil. Sprinkle on the
paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and 1 tsp of the salt and toss together.
Place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Add the garlic and serrano chillies and toss together again, then place in the oven for a further 10
minutes.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a blender (make sure you pour in all the juices from the tray). Add
the dried chillies, white pepper, lemon zest and juice and the dried rosemary. Blend until smooth.

Add the remaining vegetable oil and the red wine vinegar and blend again.

Now it's time to spatchcock the chicken. Place chicken breast-side down on a sturdy chopping board,
with the legs towards you.

Using heavy-duty scissors or poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone. It's a little fiddly, as
you have to cut through each of the rib bones as you go. So it's better to go slowly, rather than trying to
cut through multiple ribs at once.

Once you've cut through both sides of the backbone, discard the bone (or save it to make stock). Turn
the chicken over and press down with both hands on the breast bone to flatten the chicken.

Place the spatch-cocked chicken on a baking tray and pour over one third of the sauce. Sprinkle with the
remaining ½ tsp salt and the black pepper.

Place in the oven (still at 180C/350F) for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, baste the chicken and spoon over 2 more tablespoons of the sauce. Place back in the
oven for a further 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve with the remaining sauce

CHICKEN FRICASEE’

INGREDIENTS

▢4 chicken breasts

▢½ tsp salt

▢½ tsp pepper

▢2 tsp vegetable oil

▢8 chestnut mushrooms - sliced

▢1 small onion - peeled and chopped finely

▢3 cloves garlic - peeled and minced

▢¼ tsp dried thyme - or 2 sprigs fresh thyme

▢120 ml (½ cup) white wine

▢120 ml (½ cup) chicken stock

▢180 ml (¾ cup) double (heavy) cream

To Serve:

▢fresh thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oil on a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium/high heat.

Season both sides of the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper.

Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook on both sides until golden (about 6-8 minutes). They don’t
need to be cooked through at this point – they’ll continue cooking in the sauce.

Add the onion and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, until lightly softened.

Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook for the 30 seconds.

Add the wine and turn up the heat to high. Bring to the boil, then simmer until almost all of the liquid
has evaporated (this will take about 5 minutes).
Stir in the stock and cream and heat through for 2-3 minutes.

Check the chicken is cooked by checking it's no longer pink in the middle, then turn off the heat and
place the chicken breasts on 4 plates.

Spoon over the sauce and serve with your choice of sides (I love green beans and sauté potatoes with
this dish). Sprinkle over the fresh thyme and serve
CANTONESE POACHED CHICKEN (BAI QIE JI)

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN:

▢3-4 pound whole chicken

(ideally organic free-range; optional head and feet still on; at room temperature)

▢2 scallions

▢5 slices ginger

FOR THE SAUCE:

▢3 tablespoons scallions

(finely minced, white and light green parts only)

▢2 tablespoons ginger (finely minced)

▢3 tablespoons oil

▢salt (to taste)

▢soy sauce (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Make sure your chicken is at room temperature (trying to poach a cold chicken right out of the
refrigerator will result in uneven cooking or undercooking). Clean the chicken by rinsing it under cold
water, paying special attention to the cavity. Any giblets should already be removed but there may still be
organs on the inside that should be removed or sometimes stray feathers that need to be plucked.
Experts recommend that it's not necessary to wash your chicken before cutting and cooking but in this
case for a whole chicken (especially if you get it from a live poultry place or even from Asian markets),
it's a step that shouldn't be skipped, in my opinion. When washing and prepping the whole chicken, be
very careful about splashing water and contaminating surfaces with unwanted bacteria. Be careful not to
break or trim away any of the skin on the chicken, as you don’t want the meat exposed to the boiling
water as it cooks. This will ensure a moist, silky texture in the final product.

Fill a large stock pot with water, just enough to submerge the chicken completely. You can determine this
by putting the entire chicken in the pot, filling it with water until the chicken is submerged, and then
removing the chicken. Do not turn on the heat while the chicken is still in the pot! This method of
ensuring you have just enough water to submerge the chicken (and avoiding any extra) will ensure you
have a more flavorful stock to save at the end. We used about 18 cups of water to submerge a 4 pound
chicken in a deep stock pot.

Once you have your water properly measured into the pot, add 2 scallions and 5 slices of ginger, and
bring it to a boil. Once boiling, slowly lower the chicken into the pot, legs down and head up. It’s ok if the
breast is peeking out of the water a bit. The water will cool down and stop boiling when you add the
chicken, so bring it up to a boil once again, and do not walk away from the pot.

Once the water boils again, IMMEDIATELY lift the chicken out of the water very carefully. You can
carefully hook two wooden spoons under the wings to lift the chicken up. The goal is to empty any
colder water that may be trapped inside the cavity. Once you’ve released that water, lower the chicken
back into the pot, and bring to a boil again.

When the water is JUST starting to boil, turn the heat down. Keep it at barely a simmer. There should be
very little movement in the water, but it also shouldn’t be still. Cover the pot, and keep the heat around
the lowest setting so the liquid continues to simmer slowly. Cook for about 35-40 minutes, roughly 10-11
minutes per pound. Depending on the size of your chicken, it may take more or less time to cook it
through. You can check to make sure the water is bubbling slowly/gently and not boiling too vigorously,
but try to avoid uncovering the pot while it’s cooking.

Poke a chopstick or skewer into the thigh to check for doneness. If the juices run clear, it's done.
Carefully lift the chicken out of the pot and transfer it to a large bowl of ice water. Cool completely.

While the chicken is cooling, make the sauce. You have the option to make two versions—one with just
scallions, ginger, oil and salt, and one with soy sauce. The plain version is more traditional, as it really lets
the flavors of chicken, ginger, and scallion shine through. Judy loves to add soy sauce, and it’s also a tasty
option! Start with the plain version, and then scoop some of it out into another bowl and add soy sauce.
Try both and see which your loved ones like best!

When the chicken is out of the ice water, you can brush it lightly with oil or some of the fat floating atop
the poaching liquid to give it that enticing, shiny look!

To serve, carve your chicken into pieces that you can easily grab with chopsticks. For directions on the
traditional way to cut up see chicken, see our post on How to Cut a Whole Poached Chicken, Chinese
Style.

Serve with your sauce(s) and some steamed rice.

CHICKEN GALANTINA

Ingredients

Chicken

1 whole chicken, cavity deboned

butter, softened

Marinade

4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce

juice from 1 lemon

freshly ground black pepper

Filling

3 pcs hard boiled eggs

500g minced pork

4 pcs Chinese sausages

6 pcs Vienna sausages, sliced

4 pcs streaky bacon, chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 red capsicum, chopped

3 tbsp sweet pickle relish

½ cup raisins

6 tbsp flour

1 white onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
In a bowl combine all marinade ingredients then pour it into your chicken. Set you chicken aside for 30
minutes and let it marinate.

In a bowl combine all filling ingredients (apart from the eggs) together by hand. Mix well.

Fill the cavity of the chicken with the filling, placing hard boiled eggs in between then tie the chicken legs
together with a kitchen twine covering the cavity.

Massage a generous amount of butter on the chicken surface, place chicken in a roasting rack then roast
in a 180C preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove from oven, let it cool then serve.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

6 bone-in skinless chicken thighs

Salt and pepper, to season

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic, (or 6 cloves)

1 small yellow bell pepper (capsicum), diced

1 small red bell pepper (capsicum), diced

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

10 oz (300g) mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup pitted black olives

8 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons each freshly chopped parsley and basil plus more to garnish

1 teaspoon dried oregano

150 ml red wine

28 oz (820g) crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

7 oz (200g) Roma tomatoes, halved

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Sear chicken on both sides until golden, about 3-4
minutes each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the onion until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and
cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the peppers, carrot, mushrooms and herbs; cook for 5
minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
Pour in the wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until wine is reduced,
about 2 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Roma tomatoes and chill flakes. Season with salt and pepper to
your tastes. Return chicken pieces to the skillet and continue to cook over stove top OR in the oven
following the instructions below.

FOR STOVE TOP:

Mix all of the ingredients together; cover with lid, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer (while stirring
occasionally) for 40 minutes or until the meat is falling off the bone. Add in the olives, allow to simmer
for a further 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

FOR THE OVEN:

Transfer the covered skillet to a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) and cook for 50 minutes. Remove the
lid, add in the olives and cook for an additional 20 minutes until the chicken is tender and falling off the
bone, and the sauce has reduced.