Big plate chicken (大盘鸡)

For a food blog, I haven't written much about the stuff recently! To be honest, I've been concentrating on the garden, and unusually for me, I've not been flicking through cookery books for a good few weeks. Well, I've dug out a few in the past couple of days, but this recipe doesn't feature in any of them.

In fact, this is another recipe I owe to my brother - in a manner of speaking. The last time I visited him in London (to help him move into his new flat), he recommended we visit a restaurant he'd been to before. It was unusual - focusing on the cuisine of Xinjiang, the largest and least Chinese region of China. My brother and I have long been fascinated by Central Asia and the Silk Road, so it was perfect. A review had appeared, I think in the Guardian, and had attracted the attention of my brother's colleagues. He went, and liked it, despite the spiciness and exoticism of a lot of the food.

We went, and had "big plate chicken", much the best main course according to my brother. Incidentally, I tried tripe for the first time - skewered, char-grilled, and spiced. It was flaccid and bland. But the chicken was great - rich, hot, copious. It turns out, this is the definitive dish of the region - a fusion of Chinese and Turkic. Effectively it's a chicken and vegetable stew, with spices and noodles. Potatoes and rustic, hand-drawn noodles hint at the harsh simplicity of landlocked peasant food, and the Chinese influence is felt in the inclusion of soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, Sichuan pepper and star anise. Like most of my favourite recipes, it can be altered to suit many tastes, and a lot of the ingredients are optional.

"Big plate" chicken • Dàpánjī • 大盘鸡

ingredients

• chicken
• potatoes
• onion/spring onion
• bell pepper (Capsicum)
  
• garlic
• ginger
• tomato (tinned, fresh, or puréed)
  
• oil
• chilli (fresh or dried)
• soy sauce
• Shaoxing rice wine/sherry/beer
• noodles
• star anise
• Sichuan pepper
• Xinjiang spice mix*

*This spice mix is a combination of cumin, Sichuan pepper, black pepper, salt, chilli powder, ground ginger, and garlic powder, ground together. Alternatively, just add toasted cumin seeds, salt and pepper to the main stew, and extra chilli if necessary.

method

1. Peel and roughly chop the potatoes. Finely slice the onion or spring onion. De-seed and chop the pepper. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large pan. Fry the Xinjiang spice mix, or substitute spices, for a minute, to release the fragrance. Add the chicken, and brown for several minutes. Add the potato, onion, garlic, pepper, chilli, and ginger, and cook for another few minutes - do not allow to brown.
3. Add a generous glug of rice wine and soy sauce, a spoon or two of Sichuan pepper, two or three star anise, and the tomato. Add enough water to cover the potatoes and chicken, and bring to the boil.
4. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for two hours or more, until the potatoes are tender, and the chicken is well cooked.
5. Add the noodles. Fresh noodles can be added straight in; dried should be rehydrated according to packet instructions before adding. Serve immediately.
   

notes and substitutions

• I use chicken on the bone. Today I jointed a whole chicken, cutting it into ten pieces - halving each breast, separating the wings, the legs and the thighs. You could use chicken legs, thighs, breast, or any combination - but meat on the bone will take longer and add more flavour (and it's more authentic).
• Most of the vegetables are optional, except the potatoes. I added carrot today, but used no onions. Any colour pepper is fine, though I believe green is most common.
• Any oil is acceptable, as the strong flavours will overpower even something assertive, like extra virgin olive oil. Peanut and sesame are most authentic, I suppose.
• The noodles are traditionally handmade, rough 'la mian', or pulled noodles. I've done a simple wheat and water noodle, but today I used prehydrated egg noodles for speed and simplicity. Coarser noodles work best. You could omit them, and serve it as it is, or with bread.
• I rarely use rice wine or any alcohol - it's not essential, though will obviously add some complexity. White wine, sake, or even a dash of mirin might work as alternatives.
• I often add a little sugar, especially if the chilli levels are too high. The spices can be adjusted up or down to your taste. I do recommend tracking down star anise and Sichuan pepper (unrelated to black pepper), however - both are widely used in Chinese cooking, featuring in five spice mix (along with cloves, cassia, and fennel seed).

It's a great dish for cold weather - rich, warming, satisfying. You can make in in the oven or a slow cooker, too - after the ingredients have been pre-fried. Slow cooking in particular renders the meat incredibly tender.

Unseasonal pleasures

It has been a dry March, so the Met Office tells us. I believe them. The last few days in particular have been pretty nice, except a spell of dullness and light rain on Sunday. However, Saturday was so warm and sunny that my friends and I decided to break out the barbecue for the first time this year. Yes - a barbecue, in northern England, before the spring equinox. But it was a good decision, because we had a great time, and although it got cool by dusk, we were more than adequately warmed by the glowing coals (which, using my friend's thermocouple thermometer, were clocked at around 1050ºC).

I made punch, a recipe that calls for the unlikely combination of bourbon, pineapple, passionfruit, maple syrup and sparkling wine, which had been a hit a few years ago, but I wasn't totally happy with it - not fizzy enough. However, I also threw together a dish that was delicious, so I thought I'd share it.

Barbecue garlic, lemon and herb chicken
serves 3
ingredients

• 1 chicken
• several cloves of garlic, peeled
• sea salt
• black peppercorns
• 1 lemon
• fresh rosemary
• fresh bay leaves
• olive oil
• method

method

1. Joint the chicken. There are plenty of guides on the internet, but it really boils down to using a sharp, thin-bladed (boning) knife, and following the contours of the meat so you separate it into natural portions (I got 6 - the wings, leg-thighs, and breasts). Remember to leave the skin on, to protect the meat when it's grilled. The carcass does for stock.
2. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic with salt, then pepper, to form a paste. Smear it all over the chicken pieces, and put them into a bowl.
3. Zest and juice the lemon; sprinkle these over the chicken. Crush the rosemary in the pestle and mortar, and sprinkle this over too. Take the bay leaves and slide one under the skin of each portion.
4. Cover with clingfilm. Leave to marinate for a couple of hours, or overnight. Before cooking, drizzle with oil to keep the meat moist.

notes and substitutions
Ready-bought chicken pieces would be fine, so long as they have the skin on. Other herbs could be used, such as thyme or mint; dried bay leaves would be okay, but they will probably crumble a little. Although I made it for a barbecue, the chicken would just as easily grill or bake in a conventional oven.

Today has been barbecue weather again - maybe even warmer than Saturday. I've been tempted to break out my own barbecue, but I will resist for now.

Tomato Sauce

I make basic tomato sauces on a regular basis, mostly for pasta and pizza. In fact, I made one just over an hour ago, so I thought I'd explain how to turn a very few ingredients, that most people probably have in their cupboards, into something that tastes wonderful (and which costs a whole lot less than store-bought sauces).

Essential Ingredients
Tomatoes*
Onion, finely chopped
Olive oil (extra virgin offers the most complex flavour, but virgin or light will do)
Salt
Black Pepper
Sugar
Wine vinegar/Balsamic vinegar

Optional Ingredients
Herbs**
Red chilli - fresh, dried, whole or flaked, or Tabasco
Garlic
Red/orange or yellow pepper, chopped quite fine.

Method
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion, cook until slightly softened. Add the garlic and chilli, if using, fry another minute or two. Add the tomatoes, and peppers if using. Season with salt and black pepper, a pinch of sugar and a dash of vinegar. Stir, and taste - adjust the last four ingredients to taste. Cook on a low heat until everything is breaking up and the sauce is thickened. Add water if it gets too dry. Blitz in a food processor/blender if you want a smooth sauce.

*You can use fresh tomatoes of any size, if they are really ripe and full of flavour. Out of season, I would opt for tinned, either chopped of whole. A squirt of tomato purée adds extra intensity, and can make up for insipid fresh tomatoes (don't use too much though, as it can make the sauce taste too much like neat tomato purée). Passata is possible, but it tends to be more expensive.

**Great herbs to use are copious amounts of basil, generous quantities of oregano or sage, a couple of sprigs of thyme or one of rosemary, a small quantity of lovage (all fresh), or one or two bay leaves (fresh or dried). The basil after cooking but before puréeing (as basil loses its fragrance if cooked), the others would be added with the tomatoes.

Theory and Substitutions
The idea is to make a rich, balanced, and versatile sauce, without spending much money. The sugar and vinegar enhance the natural sweetness and acidity of the tomatoes, and the salt works with its savouriness - but you can leave it out if you are trying to avoid it. I find it best to use an unprocessed cane sugar, or a golden sugar, rather than white sugar, because the latter lacks complexity and tends not to integrate as well, but use whatever you have to hand. Note also, that bell peppers make the sauce sweeter, especially if you purée it. It may be better to make a big batch of plain sauce, and then add garlic, or chilli, or herbs, to each batch when using. It will keep in the fridge for a few days, and freezes well. If using for pizza, it is probably best to purée the sauce for ease of spreading.
I try to vary the recipe every time I make it, just to see what works. Today, for example, I used ajwain (a South Asian seed with the intense fragrance of thyme) instead of herbs, and Tasmanian mountain pepper instead of black pepper, as I'm trying to find uses for it. Paprika can be added in addition to or instead of chilli. Different colours of tomato can lead to wildly different coloured sauces (from pale gold to orange and purple). A cup of dry red or white wine can be added with the tomatoes, in which case be careful with the vinegar and sugar (they may not be necessary, depending on the wine).

Depending on the type of tomatoes you use, the cost per batch (say, 750ml finished sauce) can be as little as £1. If you grow your own, it will cost a few tens of pence. Either way, it's a great standby to have in your fridge or freezer - and making it in large batches should work out a bit cheaper.

Adobo

Here is a dish I have come to via my brother. This is pretty unusual, as he's only become comfortable expanding his culinary horizons in the past few years. His girlfriend's mother is the origin of this dish, which she brought from her native Philippines. There are many variations, as a cursory glance across the internet or oriental cookery books will show, but this is adobo at its most pared-down. It is, nonetheless, balanced, pure, intense, and delicious - all essential aspects of my favourite recipes.

Requires
Tough and/or fatty meat - for preference, pork (such as belly)
White wine or sherry vinegar
Garlic
Bay leaves
Salt
Black pepper

Method
Cut the meat into roughly 1.5cm chunks. Finely chop the garlic. Combine the meat, garlic, a few bay leaves, salt and pepper, and enough vinegar to coat the meat in a bowl, but only just (say, no more than 200ml for 1kg meat). Leave to marinate for 45 minutes. Heat a pan, add the meat and juices. Simmer very gently for up to 1 1/2 hours, covered for the first hour. If the liquid boils dry, add a little water to keep it moist. Serve with rice.

Notes
The fattiness of the meat ensures it is moist - chicken breast ends up very dry, but thighs might work. If cooked long enough, fat and skin can become melting. Tougher meat is ideal, as the acidity tenderises it. Tomato purée or passata might work as an addition, mostly for colour and moisture. Don't worry about the quantity of vinegar - the finished dish is intensely savoury, but balanced, and in no way sour - but if it is not to your taste, a dash of sugar might help. Other possible additions are annatto and monosodium glutamate (which are fairly traditional, and add colour and savouriness respectively). If you like lots of sauce, do not allow to boil too dry.