From the Family Recipe Box

This is another one of those recipes that has been passed from grandmother to mother, and now on to me. As with a lot of simple, homey dishes, this doesn’t have much going for it in the looks department, but boy, does it pack a whallop when it comes to nutritional goodness. Plus, it is very tasty to boot; with wonderful textures and rich flavors.

This steamed chicken dish is a perfect example of how protein-rich and lip-smackingly delicious food can be prepared with hardly any fuss, within minutes and at very low cost.

The ingredients and the preparation process involved are deceptively simple – uninteresting even. Just looking at the items that go into this dish: chicken, ginger, glutinous rice (or rice) wine and a little salt (yes, that’s it – only four ingredients!), one may be hard put to imagine how it could possibly taste anything more than ordinary. But oh, it does. It truly does. The flavors of this dish are richly complex and yet incredibly clean and light on the palate at the same time. The key of course is to use good chicken; by that I mean preferably free-range – well-reared chicken that have meat brimming with taste and texture. Of course, the dish will still work with regular battery-bred chicken, but I won’t pretend the flavors will be the same. Also, fresh is best; frozen will not be as tasty, but if hard-pressed, will also do.

Steamed Ginger & Rice Wine Chicken

5 whole chicken legs
3-4” knob of fresh ginger
8 tablespoons glutinous rice wine (or rice wine)
2 to 2½ teaspoons salt

• Place some water in the bottom of a steamer and bring it to a boil on medium-high heat.

• Remove skin and all excess fat from the chicken and cut each leg into three pieces. (A whole chicken may be used; and similarly cut into medium serving pieces.)

• Peel and julienne ginger.

• Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in a shallow dish. Add the wine, ginger and salt and mix well to coat evenly.

• Once the water in the steamer has come to a rolling boil, place the plate of chicken in the steamer, cover and steam over medium-high heat for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is tender and just cooked through.

• Serve hot.

You will notice that no water or any other liquids are added to the chicken, and yet when it comes out of the steamer, the platter is filled with a generous amount of rich amber “liquid” – and this is the “real” prize of this dish! This is liquid “gold” (if I may be so bold as to say); this is pure essence of chicken - packed to the brim with goodness! And further “enriched” by the fortifying benefits of the rice wine – all the alcohol has been cooked off, and what is left behind are the rich, mellow, sweet and smooth tones of the wine. The Chinese of course believe that rice wine can help build the blood and nourish the body. The ginger adds its warming properties to the body-rejuvenating mix, and gives a wonderfully zesty and refreshing fragrance and zip to the dish. The flavor notes are richly complex and yet incredible light, pure and clean.

I remember as a child (on both my maternal and paternal sides of the family) whenever I or any of my cousins refused to eat “proper food” for days on end (as kids are wont to do at various rebellious phases of their young lives), this was what we were fed. We were given plain rice with lots of this delicious chicken essence poured over it. (Of course, if serving the dish to children, it is usual to reduce the amount of wine and ginger used, to better suit their delicate palates.) For all the times when we were inordinately (and unreasonably) picky about food and were poutingly pushing away all meat, vegetables and anything that looked to us to be suspiciously nutritious and beneficial, this steamed chicken dish was our parents’ secret weapon to counterbalance our nutrient-devoid diet of choice, filled as it was with all things sweet and sugary.

The chicken, having been cooked in its own juices, is very tender and moist. And you know, all you really need are a few pieces of this juicy, succulent chicken, some red or brown rice, a side of lightly stir-fried vegetables, and lots of the nourishing amber essence, and you have one of the most gorgeous, homely, comforting meals ever.

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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