RECIPE: VG’S BLACK CHICKEN

To be fair, this is my recipe that MR G made as a ‘welcome home’ meal for me on Monday night. Thanks dear, I really appreciate it, especially when I have been eating out nearly all week and nothing beats a hearty home cooked meal. So this is how the dish is made.

PS: The pandan leaves give the dish a nice sweet flavour and also a very nice aroma. Do try to put it in if you can.

Ingredients
1 chicken – cut into pieces
2 – 3 cloves garlic – minced
Thumb size ginger – minced
4 whole star anise
1 large onion – sliced
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp minced chilli – I use minced chilli in a jar
8 large dried chillies – torn into two
1/3 cup thick soy sauce – add more if needed
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup water – more if you like it runny
2 pandan leaves – knotted (optional if you can’t find it)
Salt to taste (you may not need this)
2 tbsp veg oil
Marinade
4 cloves garlic – pounded
Coarse black pepper to taste (about heaped tsp)
2 tbsp thick soy sauce (more if the chicken is big)

Method
Marinade the chicken pieces with the marinade ingredients for at least ½ hour.

Heat oil in pan or wok; add in star anise, garlic, ginger and dried chillies. Cook for 1 min then add sugar to caramelise the spices. Cook for about 1 min.

Add in the chicken pieces, mix well with the spices and add in the chilli paste. Coat well. Next add in the soy sauces and water. Mix well, bring to the boil, add in pandan leaves and simmer until chicken is cooked. You may need to adjust the water every now and then.

Check seasoning (add more salt or soy sauce if you like – I like the sauce thick and dark). Add in onion, lift and serve hot with rice or thick crusty bread.

Mr G fried some cabbage to go with the meal. You can find the recipe HERE.