CHINESE COLD BOILED CHICKEN

Chinese Cold Boiled Chicken image

This is an easy dish, put together in minutes and abandon for an hour on a low flame. If you do it in the morning, it will be ready for lunch. But it can also be cooked a day ahead. Its flavors deepen with a night in the fridge. The recipe in three sentences: Season the thighs with salt and pepper, ginger, star anise and scallions, cover with water and simmer slowly. Remove the chicken, reduce the cooking liquid, then pour it back over the meat. Wait until it's well chilled. To serve, sprinkle the ice-cold jelly-clad chicken with sesame oil, scallions, cilantro and jalapeño slices. Give it a squeeze of lime. If you want something extra, add cucumber, avocado and crisp lettuce leaves. Or take off the skin, shred the chicken and have it with cold noodles.

Provided by David Tanis

Categories dinner, project, main course

Time 1h20m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

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Ingredients

6 large bone-in chicken thighs
Salt
pepper
1 two-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
3 star anise
4 scallions, 2 whole and 2 slivered
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced, optional
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
Lime wedges, for serving

Steps:

Season the thighs generously with salt and pepper. Put them in a pot and barely cover with cold water. Add the ginger, garlic, star anise and the two whole scallions. Bring to a gentle boil and skim any rising foam. Turn the heat to very low, cover, and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour.
Transfer the thighs to a bowl to cool. Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Over high heat, reduce the liquid by half, about 10 minutes, then strain it over the thighs. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
To serve, arrange the chicken on a platter, leaving some of the jellied broth clinging to the thighs. (Alternatively, the skin may be removed and discarded, and the meat pulled from the bone and shredded.) Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with slivered scallions, cilantro and, if you like, jalapeño slices. Drizzle with sesame oil and surround with lime wedges.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 389, UnsaturatedFat 19 grams, Carbohydrate 4 grams, Fat 30 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 25 grams, SaturatedFat 7 grams, Sodium 415 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 0 grams