Recipe: Kneecapped Chicken
So I guess your thinking what did the chicken do to deserve that? and then you're thinking why call it "Kneecapped Chicken"?
Well, during my Chinese adventures I lived in Macau which was perhaps the last bolt hole of many of the significant Triad members. Triads being the generally lovely people that they are (just in case they are reading), your kneecaps are probably the first thing on their to-do list if you cross em.
More appropriately, however, is the remarkable way the chinese describe the Kneecap, they use the same word as pineapple.
菠蘿 (Bō luó)
This word is interchangeably used for both pineapple and kneecap. Don't say you don't learn anything around here.
This recipe is essentially sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice, a Chinese staple but, in my own immutable way, I have combined both Chinese and Japanese ingredients. I don't care, neither should you. It tastes bloody gorgeous!
Its a long old ingredients list, many of them being stock cupboard staples though,so here goes...
Kneecapped Chicken
Approx. Time: 60 mins.
Approx. Cost: £10 for a 4 person serving (at least)
Sweet and Sour Vegetables
Ingredients:
Pineapple Chunks - You could use fresh pineapple but I find the tinned variety stays together better.
Red and Yellow Peppers - Chopped into chunky pieces. Never ever use green pepper its so bitter euuck!
Fresh Tomatoes - Just the cheap salad variety, chopped into quartes. It's best if they are firm so they stay together longer but doesn't matter too much.
Red Onion - One large red onion cut into 1 inch pieces.
Spring Onion - Cut into 1 inch pieces
Green Beans - To add some snazzy colour as well as a nice bit of crunch
Carrot - Cut into 2 inch sticks.
Mirin - 4 tablespoons.You'll be using this in every stage of this recipe for its sweetness.
Sesame Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Sugar - 1 Tablespoon.
1: Add the sesame oil to a wok or deep sided pan and on a high heat add the carrots, red onion and pineapple chunks.
2: Gently stir and simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the spring onions and red and yellow peppers and quartered tomatoes.
3: Try not to let the vegetables cook down to much, its nice to have a bit of a fresh crunch.
4: Add the Mirin and Sugar and perhaps a bit of water if your mix is too dry and leave to gently simmer for about another 5 minutes.
5: Drain the vegetables, saving the juices for the sweet and sour sauce later on.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients:
Veggie Juice - The liquid drained from the stir fried vegetables.
Pineapple Juice - About 300ml either from a carton or from the tin of Pineapple
Mirin - About four tablespoons of this very sweet Japanese Rice Wine
Xiao Xing - Two tablespoons of this deeply flavoured Chinese Cooking Wine.
Tomato Pureé - Two large tablespoons.
Tomato Sauce - A couple of table spoons of your favourite ketchup.
Soy Sauce - About as much as you can pour from a bottle whilst saying Bou Lou i.e a generous tablespoon.
Fresh Ginger - I used the Very Lazy Chopped Ginger, because I am.
Chopped Garlic - Again I used the very Lazy Chopped Garlic, it's the weekend m'kay!
Sugar - One heaped tablespoon
Arrowroot Powder - To thicken without changing the colour.
1. In a wok or deep sided frying pan fry the chopped garlic, fresh ginger and tomato pureé to take off the raw edge.
2. Add the soy sauce, tomato sauce, pineapple juice, Xiao Xing, mirin, sugar and the juice from the stir fried vegetables.
3. Simmer and as the sauce reduces add a mixture of a level tablespoon of arrowroot powder to a quarter of a cup of water and mix before adding to the simmering liquid.
4. continue to stir whilst the arrowroot thickens the sauce which should by now have a glossy sheen on the surface.
5. Try to avoid over boiling the sauce as it can turn bitter quite easily.
6. Put aside in a covered jug or dish whilst you prepare the other dishes.
Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients:
Long Grain Rice - Two Cups for four people
Soya Beans - Frozen ones seem to work best (or frozen peas for traditionalists).
Spring Onions - Roughly chopped.
Stir Fry Oil - Two tablespoons of this flavoured oil (infused with ginger and garlic).
Sesame Oil - One tablespoon of this strongly flavoured oil.
Tamago Yaki - Make an egg roll and chop into thin slices (see this video here )
Made with 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons mirin, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
Beaten Egg - 1 egg
Cassia Bark - A cinnamon like spice, substitute with a tiny bit of cinnamon stick if you cannot find cassavia.
Star Anise - Not strictly to the Chinese recipe but I like it.
1. Place two cups of rice and 3 cups of water into a flat high sided frying pan with a lid on a high heat and allow to simmer.
2. when you see craters and holes in the surface of the rice, turn down the heat and add the cassia bark and star anise. DO NOT STIR!
3. Leave for a further 10 minutes, checking occasionaly to make sure the rice has not dried out, adding small amounts of water where necessary.
5. When the rice is cooked but still has a slight bite to it add the sesame oil and stir fry oil and whack up the heat again.
6. Add the spring onions and soya beans.
7. Add the beaten egg to the rice and quickly turn over the rice so its coated.
8. Add the chopped Tamago Yaki
9. Eat the rice as soon as possible and do not be tempted to keep any leftovers. Re-heating cooked rice can be dangerous if it hasn't been cooled down and refrigerated correctly after cooking.
Cooking the contaminated rice to a high temperature doesn't help, because although the infectious organisms (Bacillus Cereus) are killed, they leave behind a poisonous residue that will still make you ill.
In actual fact, it is usually rice that gives people travelling to Asia food poisoning more often than fish or meat, as it is usually reheated several times before getting to your plate!
Funky Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken Breast or Thigh - The equivalent of 4 medium or two large chicken breasts.
Soy Sauce - A tablespoon.
Mirin - Two tablespoons.
Sugar - One tablespoon.
Honey - 2 Teaspoons
Togarashi - One teaspoon (or chilli powder and lemon zest if you cant find it)
Plain Flour - About 4 Tablespoons
Salt - a pinch
1. Chop the chicken into one inch pieces, this is important so you can cook it all the way through when deep frying.
2. Add the chicken to a plastic sandwich bag and add the Mirin, honey, sugar and soy sauce and give it a good squeeze through the bag.
3. Set the chicken aside in the Fridge for about 10 minutes.
4. After marinading, drain off any remaining liquid and in flat dish sprinkle out the flour, salt and Togorashi.
5. Drop the chicken pieces into the flour mixture and roll around before tapping off the excess flour and dropping into hot oil. I do not use a deep fat fryer just a deep sided frying pain with about an inch of oil and I turn over the piece with wooden tongs.
6. Be very careful not to burn the chicken as it will become very bitter. It is quite difficult to gauge as the sugars in the marinade turn very dark, so place a small chunk of bread into your oil to see if its too hot. The bread should turn golden but not too quickly.
7. Place cooked chicken on some kitchen paper to remove excess oil
8. Serve with your Egg Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Vegetables and cover in Sweet and Sour Sauce and let it soak in. Sprinkle with liberal amounts of the togorashi spice. A nice cold Japanese Beer is also a must. Yum!
