Smoked Tender Chicken
Cooked tender chicken is smoked over wood shavings, tea leaves, and sugar, producing a yellowish-brown color and a rich smoky aroma.
Ingredients
Tender young chicken (approx 1000g, cleaned and prepared)
1
Soy sauce
250 g
Star anise
5 g
Shaoxing wine
100 g
Cinnamon stick
5 g
White sugar (to be used in portions)
45 g
Refined salt
20 g
Scallion (tied into a knot)
15 g
MSG
3 g
Ginger (smashed)
15 g
Sesame oil (applied after smoking)
15 g
Wood chips (smoking material)
50 g
Tea leaves (smoking material)
15 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the chicken
Cut a small incision at the base of the chicken's neck to remove the trachea and crop. Make a 3cm long opening near the vent, discard the internal organs. Trim off the chicken feet, crack the thigh bones, rinse out any blood residue from the inside of the chicken, drain thoroughly and set aside.
2
Simmering
Place a wok over high heat, add star anise, cinnamon stick, knotted scallion, smashed ginger, 25g white sugar, soy sauce, refined salt, Shaoxing wine, MSG, 2000g water, then add the prepared chicken. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, cover the wok, move it to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and drain excess moisture.
3
Smoking
Place 50g wood chips, 15g tea leaves and 20g white sugar in a large iron wok, add 20g water and mix well, spread evenly at the bottom of the wok. Set a wire rack over the wok, coat the rack with a layer of oil, lay the chicken flat on the rack. Heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke, then cover tightly. Smoke for 4-5 minutes until yellow smoke appears, remove from heat. While the chicken is still hot, brush a layer of sesame oil all over it. Let cool, then cut into pieces and arrange on a plate to serve.
