White cut chicken with Instant Pot

Cantonese White-cut chicken was the most popular post on this blog in the last six years. I have been following the recipe diligently with some minor modifications.  A few months ago, I was persuaded to purchase an Instant Pot by a dear friend and has since discovered this to be the best equipment for the best ever white-cut chicken.  You will see why once I have shared with you the recipe.

I suggest you review the earlier recipe before you start on this one because many of the explanations still apply.  Rather than repeat myself, I will just start with the Instant Pot recipe here. 

Use the best chicken you can buy (around 3 pounds), either free-range chicken, organic or antibiotic-free chicken would do. It is best fresh and not frozen but if you only have frozen chicken, make sure it is properly and completely defrosted.  You can't defrost the chicken in the cooking process - you may end up with a half-cooked chicken, which is not recommended.

Fill the Instant Pot up to the 2/3 mark with hot water, turn on sauté and bring water to a boil.  Cut a stalk of green onions into two inch pieces and add to the water with half teaspoon sea salt, 3 slices of ginger, and 1 heaping tablespoon of Zedoary 沙薑粉 (see Cantonese White-cut chicken if you don't know what this is).
 
After you have cleaned the chicken with salt, use a chopstick to go under the skin near each of the thighs and pierce the thickest part of the meat near the joint several times.  I learned this technique watching the video on Peter's Chicken. Master Bill also massaged the chicken legs several times. Following his method, hold the chicken by its neck and immerse it into the hot water three times, letting the water drain out each time.  This brings the inside and outside of the chicken to the same temperature for even cooking.

Immerse the chicken breast side down into the pot and bring the water to a simmer with the sauté function. Then turn off the sauté, put the lid on the pot, lock it and turn on the Keep Warm function for 30 minutes.  

At the end of the 30 minutes, prepare a large pot of cold water. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and immerse the chicken into the cold water.  Add ice cubes to the water to keep it cold.  Leave the chicken in the cold water for about 20 minutes to half an hour so that it is completely cooled down. This is to crisp the skin. Remove the chicken from the water, drain,and dry with paper towel.  Apply sesame oil to the skin with a brush. Cut up the chicken. Serve with ginger and onion dip. 

The Instant Pot keeps the water hot without overcooking the chicken.  There is no need to use any pressure at all because this is a poached chicken, it just needs to be maintained at a hot enough temperature to cook it.  This method is less fussy than the stove top method because you don't have to worry about keeping the pot hot, it is built into the Keep Warm function of the Instant Pot.

Below is a video showing how to cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces with scissors without using a chopping board.  

Drunken Chicken roll

I love "drunken chicken", especially the ones that came with the wine. Unfortunately the one restaurant here that used to make it to perfection, served in a wine jar, is no longer around. What's left is another restaurant that makes drunken chicken roll which I consider a compromise. However, at a recent potluck I came across an item that appeared in the guise of "cold cut" - it was actually drunken chicken roll!  That was a nice surprise and I grabbed the chef who gave me the recipe verbally. I thought it prudent to write it down here in case anyone wants to try it - it makes a good appetizer.

The most suitable kind of meat is boneless chicken thigh with skin on. Clean and remove any excess fat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper on both sides, rub with anise and ginger (optional). Roll up the meat then wrap aluminum foil around it so it retains its shape.

Let the chicken marinate for a few hours or even overnight. Then put the wrapped rolls in a pan and steam over high heat for about 15 minutes or longer if you have more than 3 chicken legs. Remove from heat and let it cool down before unwrapping the foil. The chicken is now in roll form.  Immerse the rolls in a pan and cover with Chinese rice wine 紹興花雕洒  Shao xing huai diao jiu.  (I use the Taiwanese version which I really like for its fragrance.) Add half tablespoon of sugar to the wine and any liquid left in the steaming dish. Keep in fridge for 24 hours. Tip: using a deep narrow dish will mean you need less wine to keep all the pieces fully immersed. If they are not fully immersed, then flip after 12 hours.

The chicken roll is ready for serving at the end of 24 hours. Remove from the wine and cut into quarter inch slices. Drizzle some of the wine (it may have turned partly into jelly) onto the pieces before serving.

The chef subsequently told me he got the recipe off the internet but couldn't find it again. I managed to find the source and here it is, for those of you who read Chinese. Note that water is added to the wine in this case. I thought the taste of the chicken in undiluted wine in my modified version is just right. Your choice.