Chicken with Herb

Decided to give myself a break.

After Stevie short visit, felt too tired to continue to do wedding prep so the whole of last weekend, i decided to rest and cook.

During our uni days, there was once i tried to cook chicken with star anise and cinnamon. The recipe was from one of mum's very old and thick cook book, which i stole (took it without permission) and brought it to Aussie with me. The recipe was too troublesome but the chicken really taste good with all the herb aroma.

Really feel like eating the chicken again but did not want to go through the hassle of the recipe. So this time round i chose a much simpler recipe.

The chicken turned out to be a bit salty as i forgot to buy vinegar and also did not make up for it by putting less soya sauce. But i'm sure it should turn out well as there was a nice hint of the herb smell which sometimes will get too strong and bitter.




Ingredient
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoon of rice vinegar
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
2 tablespoon of honey
1/4 cup of chicken stock
4 chicken thighs
3 green onion (seperate white and green parts)
3 garlic gloves (minced)
1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
1/2 teaspoon of crush red pepper flakes
5 orange peel
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
salt and pepper


Stir together the soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, honey, and chicken broth. Set aside for later.

Heat up oil over medium fire and lightly fry the chicken on both sides till brown. Remove chicken from pan.

Pour off all but about one tablespoon of fat from the pot. Return it to medium heat, and throw in the white part of the green onions, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir around for about half a minute, until you can smell the garlic and ginger. Pour in the reserved soy mixture. Top off with more chicken broth and soy sauce if needed to reach a depth of about 1/4 inch of liquid. Stir to combine, and add the orange peel, cinnamon, and star anise.

Add the chicken thighs back to the pot, adding any accumulated juices from the plate. Cover with a lid and turn to low fire. After 15 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over with tongs and top off with more chicken broth if needed to maintain the 1/4 inch of liquid. Replace the lid and let cook for another 15 minutes, or until fork tender.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Remove the orange peel, cinnamon, and star anise from the pot, place over a medium high heat, and bring the liquid up to a simmer. Skim off any surface fat if desired. Stir in the green part of the green onions.

Make a slurry out of the cornstarch and a tablespoon of either chicken broth or water. Pour into the pot and stir to thicken. Let it bubble up for a minute and taste for seasoning. If it's too salty, add a bit of vinegar. If it's too sour, add a bit more soy sauce. Take the foil off the chicken, and carefully pour in any juices from the platter.