Chicken Dish for Chinese New Year

Chicken dish is in the not-to-be-missed dish in Chinese New Year food especially during Chinese New Year reunion dinner.  Traditionally, this chicken dish will use a whole chicken including head and claws – cooked and offered to “god” before being cut to smaller pieces to be eaten.  This Chinese New Year chicken dish taste so good you must have thought the recipe is somewhat complicated.  Wrong!  This chicken dish is very easy!

Looking at this chicken dish recipe, ingredients needed are basically just a kampong chicken, salt and water!  The kampong chicken will be boiled in a pot of water (yes, just plain water) and hauled up when cooked.  When it cooled down, coat it with salt.  If you’re using this chicken dish as offerings, go ahead.  If not, wait for about 15 minutes before you cut it to smaller portions to be eaten.  So that the chicken would have absorbed a bit of the salty taste.  It is normal to serve the chicken dish cold.

What’s better still, the pot of water used to boil the chicken can be kept in freezer whole year long to be used as if chicken stock.  Use it for your noodle dishes or soup (in replacement of plain water).  It is almost tasteless but with the essence and fragrance of chicken!  Pack it into few small portions with containers or waterproof packets for use at different occasion.

The only thing concerned in preparation would be equipment.  You need to have a pot big enough for whole chicken and figure out how you’re going to haul up the whole chicken later without poking too many holes on it!  Lol!  Don’t worry, its easy if you have a large thong.  I sometimes use hands (in gloves and when it cooled down) but also seen people hauling it up with just chopsticks, one poked into the chicken’s neck part and another in the buttock.  If you’re not going to serve it as offerings, go ahead and buy cut chicken.  You’ll have no problem with equipment.

I’ve almost got the whole chicken recipe revealed already but let’s look in detail:-

Chicken Dish for Chinese New Year

Ingredients:

• 1 pot of water (enough to submerge the whole chicken + 3 inches more in height to prepare for evaporation)
• 1 whole kampong chicken (cleaned)
• 2 tbsp of salt (coarse salt preferably but fine salt will be ok too)

Preparation:

1. Boil the water and plunge in the chicken.
2. Keep boiling until cooked (about 20 minutes, test it by poking a knife into the flesh – flesh should be softer when cooked.  If you’re not sure, note that Chinese food is rather overcooked than undercooked)
3. Haul up the chicken.
4. Set aside to let cool.  Then coat the outside of the chicken with your hands.  Leave it for another 15 minutes.
5. Ready to serve.

Teochew Steamed Fish

Teochew Steamed Fish is slightly sour and salty therefore so appetising that it keeps you hungry throughout the meal! Teochew Steamed Fish is like a combination of Salted Vegetable with Beancurd Soup and Steamed Fish.  Of course not so much of water involved, just enough to create some delicious sauce to top on steaming white rice.

A simple steamed fish the Chinese style may just have Xiao Xing wine and ginger – both being common ingredients in casting away the fishy smell of seafood dishes.  Teochew Steamed Fish recipe however, is improved with additional ingredients including salted vegetable, beancurd and tomato which enhance the taste to a different kind.  Pickled plums are commonly used for Teochew Steamed Fish however the Teochew Steamed Fish recipe below does not involve this ingredient.  I find it tastes just nice as it is

This Teochew Steamed Fish recipe uses pomfret but it also works well with other fishes such as seabass.  The advantage of using pomfret is that it is easy to handle even if you forgot to get the fish monger to help you.  All that is necessary to do is to remove those thin and tiny scales and clear its tummy and gill.  Normally fish monger at market would automatically do these for you or you can just ask – no extra charge.  How to know if the fish is fresh?  Look at the eyes – watery and transparent but may be a little bloody though.  Then press the cheek to see that blood still comes out from the gill.

For those who prefer some spiciness, adding some chillies to steam the fish will satisfy your taste bud but do not overdo as chillies may cover the overall taste of this Teochew Steamed Fish if too much is added.  Overall, all ingredients used in Teochew Steamed Fish recipe shared below are pretty common and easily available for sure.  You sure know where to get them.

Not much seasoning required in this Teochew Steamed Fish recipe as there is enough flavours from the ingredients.  Enjoy this appetising Teochew Steamed Fish!

Teochew Steamed Fish Recipe (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

Ingredients to steam with the fish

• 1 no. of medium size Pomfret ~250gm (scaled, cleaned)
• ½ tsp of salt (to marinate fish for few minutes)
• 1 no. of brick tofu – beancurd (cubed)
• ½ leaf of salted vegetable (shredded)
• 2 nos. of shallot (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2” of ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 no. of tomato (sliced)
• 1 tbsp of Xiao Xing wine (Chinese wine)
• 2 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp of sesame oil

Optional:

• ¼ no. of red chilli (sliced)

Preparation:

Arrange ingredients in a deep plate and steam till fish is cooked

1. Make 3 slits on both sides of the fish and marinate the fish with salt for a minute or two.
2. Arrange all ingredients in a deep, metal or porcelain plate with the fish in the middle.  Make sure not too much ingredients on top or underneath the fish to avoid having uncooked parts.  Xiao Xing wine should be poured on the fish directly while water shall just be added to the side to prevent washing away the wine from the fish.
3. Steamed in steamer until the fish’s eyes bulge.  Poke the tip of a knife into the thickest part of the fish and make sure the knife comes out clean.
4. Ready to serve.

Teochew Steamed Fish