Lemon chicken that’s reminiscent of the Cantonese classic but using the whole bird from Everything You Want to Know about Chinese Cooking by Pearl Kong Chen, Tien Chi Chen and Rose Tseng. Deliciously tender and tangy.
Prepare a marinade of 2 tablespoons of brandy, 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of salt. Rub this mixture all over your chicken and into the cavity and allow it to marinate for at least 1 hour, turning occasionally. Meanwhile for the sauce combine the zest of 2 lemons, the juice of 1½ lemons, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1½ cups of chicken stock. Prepare 2 sliced cloves of garlic, a similar amount of sliced fresh ginger and 60g (2 oz) of shallots, either very small ones or cut into about 8 pieces. When you’re ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok over high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, adding the remaining marinade to the sauce ingredients. Put the chicken in the wok, turn the heat down to medium and fry until it’s brown all over. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside. Add the garlic, ginger and shallots to the wok and cook them briefly until fragrant. Add the sauce mixture and bring to boil then return the chicken to the wok and cover. Simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked and tender – the internal temperature should be 74ºC (165ºF). Remove the chicken to a serving platter, rub with sesame oil and allow to rest. Meanwhile add a slurry of 2 teaspoons of cornflour to a little water and add this to the sauce. Cook until thickened. Serve with steamed rice and a vegetable stir fry.
michelle picker cooks 