Roast garlic chicken chez Huang

Feeding a picky Chinese guy like mine means that you don’t get to serve foods that fail to appeal. Granted, he doesn’t say anything if dinner doesn’t meet his expectations, but there’s a silence and a pronounced pushing of things around on the plate that tells me he is feeling hungry and anxious.

Lucky for me, he’s an easy read. He likes to separate all the things in front of him so that he has separate piles of veggies, meats, whatever. Then, if he discovers a favorite – or if he knows that a beloved dish is in front of him – he will save that for last. Inevitably.

Eggs are always on that list, as well as most other proteins. Unless I’m serving sticky rice, and then all bets are off. He will scrupulously clean every last bit of dinner off the grains and then sigh happily as he dives into the rice.

However much he adores sticky rice, though, he would be hard pressed to keep this chicken until the end of his meal. And I can’t blame him. In fact, I’m one of those people who likes to eat an alternating bite of each thing as I progress through the meal, and I usually succumb to diving face first into the chicken.

This starts with the carving, which really is more about simply pulling the meat off the bones. It’s that tender. You’ll discover this when you tug on a drumstick, preparing as usual to open up the thigh so that you can slice through the hip joint. But that won’t happen if you roast the bird this way. Instead, the leg bone pops out in your hand, and then when you try to maneuver the thigh, out comes that bone, too. I will "tidy up" the bird as I go, as of course I don't want to serve anything that's messy. At least, that's my excuse.

Perfection achieved

Usually when a chicken is this done, the breast meat will be dried out, too. And yet here the breast is perfectly succulent. And flavorful. And covered with crispy skin.

This alchemy is the result of a few things that I will now lay out for you, because I’ve worked on this dish for decades, I tell you, and it’s finally ready to go public.

First, use lots of slightly smacked garlic under the skin. This not only perfumes the flesh, but it also props up the skin, allowing it to turn crunchy.

Second, don’t tie up the legs, but rather let them sprawl open. That way the hot air of the oven can easily circulate around the thighs, which are always the last bits to get done. Usually, if you wait until the thighs are done, the breast will be toast. But not this way.

Third, start this off in a hot oven – 425°F (220°C) – and then lower the heat to 375°F (190°C) to finish it off. This hot blast dries out the skin, but it’s done for only around 10 minutes, so that the meat doesn’t have a chance to dry off.

Fourth, if you have a convection oven, now is the time to use it. The circulating air that a convection oven uses to cook things is exactly what you want here. It’s like a desert wind blowing around the bird, parching the surface and giving you crispy skin and luscious meat. If you are using a traditional gas or electric oven, try increasing it by 25°F (15°C) to get it hot enough.

Fifth, cook the bird without any sauce for the first half hour and only then pour on the sauce. After that, baste that bird every 5 minutes or so to build up a nice shellac. Don't use a whole lot of sauce – you don’t want to braise it – but enough that the back area soaks up the moisture.

Sixth, use a thick sauce. It should be about the consistency of molasses. Remember that the bird will be giving off lots of juices as it cooks, which will dilute whatever you are using.

Seventh, remember to let the bird rest out of the oven for around 30 minutes. It needs to cool down a bit, and it will keep on cooking while it is still hot, but this rest will also allow the heat to even out throughout the chicken. Also, it will just be too hot to cut up and serve and eat before that. Don’t cover the bird, as that will soften the skin.

And finally, as always, use a good quality chicken. Organic and free range or kosher is best, in my opinion. There are different producers out there, so find one you like. I’ve been really impressed with Trader Joe’s whole birds, both the free range and kosher.

Lotsa, lotsa garlic

This sauce is simply sweet soy sauce, but you can use any thickened red-cooked sauce you like, or even something completely different.

What makes my sauce truly different is that I reuse it. The natural flavors of garlic and chicken seep into it, making it more and more of a master sauce as time goes on. You can keep this up as long as you like, adding more soy sauce or wine or sugar or seasonings as you go and as needed. It should be thick and molasses-y, so it will keep well if refrigerated in a closed jar.

And you can use this sauce as you like. It goes great when brushed on grilled salmon, say, or tossed into some stir-fried cabbage at the last minute. Just be sure to keep at least ½ cup (120 ml) set aside for your next roast chicken foray. And if you’re anything like me, this will probably turn into a weekly affair.

Garlic roast chicken chez Huang

Huángjiā suànzi kăojī 黃家蒜子烤雞

Serves 4 to 6

1 whole free range, organic, or kosher chicken (about 5 pounds or 2.25 kgs)

1 whole head garlic

½ cup (120 ml) sweet soy sauce (page 439 in All Under Heaven), or whatever sauce you like, as long as it is as thick as warmed molasses

1. Place one oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and another one just below that. Set an empty pan on the bottom rack and cover it with foil to catch any drippings. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) while you prepare the bird.

Tuck in the cloves

2. Break the garlic up into separate cloves, trim off the hard bases, lightly smack them with the side of a heavy knife, and peel off the skins. You should have about 12 to 16 garlic cloves.

3. Wipe the bird dry inside and out with paper towels. Fold the wings under themselves. Use your fingers to carefully separate the skin on the breast and thighs from the meat. Slide a third of the garlic cloves onto the right breast and thigh, another third on the left, and the rest should get tossed into the cavity. Don't truss the legs, but rather leave them sprawling open. Place the bird in an ovenproof pan that is at least 2 inches (5 cm) deep, so that the juices don’t spill out.

4. Set the bird on the uppermost of the racks in the center of the oven with the breast toward the back, if you are using a convection oven, as this way the hot air will directly hit this area. Roast for about 15 minutes and then turn down the heat to 375°F (190°C), but don’t open up the oven door. After a total of 30 minutes, pour the sauce over the chicken. Every 5 or so minutes after this, baste the chicken, being sure to coat the breast area thoroughly. The chicken will be done when the thigh reads 165°F (75°C). Remove the bird from the oven and let it rest uncovered for at least 30 minutes, then pull it apart and serve. Some of the roasting juices can be poured over the chicken, but again, save some for next time you roast a bird.

Garlic that will improve your life by 1000%

One of the highlights for me whenever we’ve sat down for a northern Chinese hotpot dinner has always been the tawny brown heads of sweet pickled garlic that were plunked down with the plates of pickled cabbage and boiled peanuts. Fixed this way, the garlic evolves from bitingly hot to mellow and sweet, with the vinegar and salt providing cleansing edges. I like my garlic exotically dark, so I use very dark brown sugar and a tasty but cheap balsamic vinegar, which also lends a lovely tang to the little cloves.

But the real prize in this recipe is the vinegar that emerges from this process. Nothing, but nothing can equal this vinegar. It has everything you could ask for in a sauce: sweet, sour, salty, garlic, and all of them in perfect balance. This one ingredient I prize so much that I never give it away, hoarding it like a miser and serving it dribbled over tidbits only when I'm certain that it will be appreciated. Selfish? Oh yes indeed. But completely sensible. Wait until you taste it; you'll understand.

Like so many of China's greatest culinary masterpieces, this is understated, simple, and requires only a modicum of ingredients and preparation. But also like quite a few of my favorite dishes, this does require patience. These lovely heads of garlic have to settle quietly into the sweetened and gently salted vinegar for a couple of months - or even longer if you can bear it - before they surrender their fire and become mellow enough to eat just the way they are. Then and only then do you pluck out a sweetly drowned head of garlic, surreptitiously licking your fingers, and squeeze a lovely clove out of its jacket and into your mouth. 

If you find this as intoxicating as I do, consider preparing a batch every three months or so and have jars continually mellowing away in the pantry or on the shelf. I label my crocks and so put them into regular rotation. As summer draws near, you still will find plenty of use for them, since the luscious sauce is great in salads and drizzled over things like fresh, flavorful tomatoes. I'm getting hunger pangs just thinking about a still warm Brandywine tomato, sliced into wedges, lightly salted, and oozing with this loveliest of vinegar sauces.

A note on the ingredients: I tend to use a good, cheap balsamic vinegar here for a couple of reasons. I haven't been too happy with the taste of lots of the Chinese vinegars I have tried; they seem raw and yeasty, rather than tasting of rice wines that have been nudged over into the realm of delicious tartness. However, there has also been a bit of concern lately over the amount of lead that has found its way into balsamic vinegars, so do your research. 

Warning: may cause cravings

As for the sugar, my hands-down favorite is the extremely dark brown sugar that you can buy in some Korean markets. This sugar is soft and moist and tastes like molasses, and it works wonders here.  Finally, I have read that Chinese garlic is unclean, full of pesticides, and often sold at such outrageously low prices that American farmers can't compete. So, if you worry about things like I do, buy heavy, firm, plump heads of garlic that are organically grown, and you'll find that the flavor just cannot be beat. I take this one step further and plant the biggest cloves so that I have nice green shoots to cook with in the cooler months, as well as more heavy, firm, plump, organic heads to harvest later on.  

Win win.

Sweet pickled garlic cloves 

Táng suàn  糖蒜 

Shanxi

Makes 8 heads of pickled garlic

Special equipment:  

1-quart jar or crock

A plate that fits easily inside the mouth of the jar or crock

Garlic and brining liquid:

8 large heads of fresh garlic

½ cup sea salt

6 cups hot water

Marinade:

3 cups balsamic vinegar

2¼ cups dark brown sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1. Clean the heads of garlic, but don’t break them apart.  Peel off most of the outer layers of the garlic skin, leaving only a layer or two over the garlic cloves.  Carefully scrub the root end and cut off as much as possible without cutting into the cloves or breaking the heads.

Organic American garlic

2. Dissolve the salt in the hot water and let it cool.  Place the garlic in the cool salt water and let them soak for about 24 hours to remove some of the harshness and to make the garlic as clean as possible.

3. Place the vinegar, sugar, water, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, and then stir it until the sugar dissolves.  Allow the marinade to cool down to room temperature.

4. Remove the garlic from the salt water and place them in the clean jar or crock without rinsing the salt water off.  Pour the cool marinade over them, place the plate on top of the garlic to help submerge them in the marinade, and cover the container.  Lightly stir the garlic every day or two for a week and then store the garlic in a cool place for about 2 weeks before using.  Taste a clove of garlic to see whether its flavor is sweet and relatively gentle.  As soon as the garlic is pickled to your liking, pack the garlic in small jars or plastic containers and store them in the refrigerator; they will keep a long time that way.

How to select & prep fresh chilies & garlic

Most areas of China employ these two ingredients in varying amounts, from dainty touches in the Yangtze River Delta to the fiery mounds that make foods in Sichuan and Guizhou so enticing. 

And so, it’s more than helpful to know how to deal with these two lovely aromatics, everything from selecting to storing to prepping them.

These two ingredients are easy to work with once you get to know them. Here's how...

Fresh chilies

Firm, fresh, & shiny

The first thing you need to know about these is how to determine whether your chili pepper is hot or mild, sweet or grassy. Heat is determined by the variety, while sweetness depends upon ripeness. Larger peppers tend to be milder than smaller ones, but of course your mileage will vary.

Select chilies that are firm and shiny. Run your fingers all over them; softness indicates rot. Check the caps, which should be green and firmly attached to the fruit, as this is often where rot begins. 

If the peppers are wrapped on a tray (as they often are in Chinese markets) and fondling is difficult, look at the cut ends of the stems: Shrinkage and darkening on the cut tells you that these have been sitting around for a while, so inspect them as carefully as you can.

Cut around the core

Store fresh peppers in the refrigerator, preferably in dry paper bag (to absorb moisture) wrapped in a plastic bag (to keep them from drying out). Wash them just before using and pat dry.

If you have sensitive skin, or if you are working with hotter peppers, wear gloves. I keep a box of surgical gloves in the kitchen for just such occasions, as well as for working with things like raw taro, which makes my skin itch.

Do not touch your face or any other sensitive area, as the juice will burn, and wash your hands carefully once you’ve finished prepping them, as these oils will cling to your skin or gloves.

Shake out the seeds

To seed a pepper, I’ve come to rely on this easy method: Slit the pepper down one side, slide the knife in between the flesh and the seeds, and then roll the knife around the core. You will end up with most of the seeds still attached to the core, and all you have to do is shake any wayward seeds out of the flesh. The pepper can then be sliced or chopped. 

You can leave the seeds in the peppers if you like them that way, but I prefer the smoothness of a seedless sauce, as well as the lack of bitterness that the seeds often provide.

Garlic

Fresh garlic is available year around, but the best ones to get (if you can find them) are the lavender ones that show up with the first harvest. These are juicy and tasty, so grab them.

Cut off the stem ends

Garlic imported from China has the rootlets removed, giving them smooth bases. Avoid this garlic if you can because of the high levels of pollution and heavy metals in the soil. Organic garlic is more expensive, of course, but it is generally fresher and much healthier.

Select heads that are firm all over. There should be no black areas in the papery coverings (that’s mildew) or green sprouts showing. Those sprouts tell you that the garlic has been on the shelf for a while, and the bulb’s energy has been transferred into reproduction and the individual cloves will begin to dry out. Refrigerate the garlic—like fresh chilies and ginger, for that matter—in dry paper bags wrapped with plastic bags.

Whack the clove with a blade

There are a couple of ways to peel garlic, but these are my favorites:

If you just want a couple of cloves, break them off of the bulb. If you want to prepare the whole head, cup it in your hand with the root side down and then smack the roots against a counter; this should break them off, or at least loosen them considerably. You now should have a bunch of individual garlic cloves in front of you. 

If you are not using all of them immediately, I strongly urge you not to peel the extras, as they rot easier once naked and also will smell up your fridge.

Remove any green sprouts

To peel a clove (or cloves) without mashing it, first trim off the hard root end. Then, lay the flat side of a wide knife or cleaver over the clove(s) and press down on in with your hand until the clove cracks; you then can slip off the papery covering. 

If you are planning to mince the garlic, then whack it with the side of your blade a la Martin Yan; this will leave you with a pulpy layer underneath that papery skin, and all you have to do is chop it a bit.

If you do find a green sprout in the center of a clove, remove it completely. Some people say that they taste bitter, but my main complaint is that they are tough and tasteless, so I jimmy them out with the tip of a knife and discard them. That particular clove will naturally be a tad less aromatic, but all in all still usable.

Fast chopping moves

Chop garlic by holding the handle of your knife with one hand and pressing down on the tip of the blade with the other. With this technique, the tip of the knife does not move, but rather acts as a stable point, allowing the blade to move freely in an arc over the food. You then can move your knife back and forth over the garlic (or any other ingredient) very rapidly. Use your blade to scrape up the garlic, and you're done.

By the way, use the search engine on this blog (in the right-hand column) to find many delicious ways to use these two delicious ingredients.