To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Cooking expert Ryo Imai recommends “chicken a la Peking duck” as a feast for New Year holiday gatherings.
With relatively little effort, the dish can create a festive atmosphere in which people feel as if they are eating the iconic Chinese luxury dish at home.
Peking duck as served in restaurants is very time-consuming to prepare. Usually, a whole duck is coated with a starchy syrup, dried and then cooked in oil for long time.
Imai said: “Cooking [Peking duck] is difficult to do at home. But if you use a chicken with its skin on and make the surface crispy, you can replicate the same mood.”
Ordinarily, thin flour pancakes are used to wrap pieces of the meat together with slivered vegetables, but Imai uses sliced bread instead.
To prepare the chicken before cooking, sprinkle it with salt and then blot up the water that is drawn out. Removing excess moisture in this way improves the taste.
For this recipe, Imai uses a weight to make the surface of the meat crispy. Cooking the chicken while pressing it under a weight also removes even more moisture and fat.
The pressed chicken also becomes thin and flat, which makes it easier to roll up. It is best to use a weight specifically designed for cooking, but a pan filled with water is a practical alternative.
The wider the bottom of the pan is, the more firmly and thoroughly the meat will be pressed. Fat that runs out during cooking should be wiped away with a paper towel.
Check if it is done by running chopsticks along the skin. If you hear a crispy sound, it’s ready. When cutting the meat to serve, set skin side down to make the job easier.
As for the slices of bread to wrap up the ingredients, Imai said, “The main ingredient is flour, just like [thin Chinese pancakes]. When you eat it, you can barely tell the difference from real Peking duck.”
Place each slice of bread on a cutting board and thoroughly flatten them with a rolling pin. The more thoroughly they are flattened, the closer the texture becomes to that of a Chinese pancake.
Place the ingredients on a flattened slice of bread, drizzle sauce all over and roll the whole bundle up.
Biting into one offers the crisp texture of the chicken’s skin and the flavors of the sauce. The dish is highly recommended for New Year holiday parties.
***
Another use for tianmian sauce
The Yomiuri Shimbun Vegetables with tianmian sweet bean sauce
Tianmian sweet bean sauce can also be enjoyed with vegetables later.
Mix one tablespoon of tianmian sweet bean sauce with three tablespoons of mayonnaise plus a dab of grated garlic and chili oil to taste. Serve with sticks of celery, cucumber and bite-size daikon pieces to dip in the sauce.
Chicken a la Peking duck
Ingredients (serves 2):
300 grams boneless chicken thigh (with skin)
1 cucumber
Half a negi green onion
8 slices sandwich bread
2 tbsp tianmian sweet bean sauce
1 tsp honey
Directions:
1. Thinly cut the cucumber diagonally, then cut into slivers. Cut the negi green onion in half lengthwise, then cut thinly and diagonally and soak in water. Use a paper towel to blot up moisture on the surface.
2. Sprinkle salt over the chicken, let sit for 10 minutes and blot up moisture on the surface.
3. To prepare the sauce, mix tianmian sweet bean sauce with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and honey. Warm in a microwave at 600 watts for about 20 seconds.
4. Put 1 teaspoon of salad oil in a frying pan and place the chicken skin side down. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and then put a pan filled with water on top as a weight.
5. Cook the weighted chicken over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, long enough for the skin to become crispy and take on a nice color. Remove the weighted pan and parchment paper. Turn the chicken over and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Flatten the bread slices with a rolling pin.
7. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and arrange on a plate with cucumber and negi green onion beside them. Place the flattened slices of bread on another plate next to a cup of the sauce.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Step 4: Put 1 teaspoon of salad oil in a frying pan and place the chicken skin side down. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and then put a pan filled with water on top as a weight.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Step 5: Cook the weighted chicken over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, long enough for the skin to become crispy and take on a nice color. Remove the weighted pan and parchment paper. Turn the chicken over and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Step 6: Flatten the bread slices with a rolling pin.
Let your guests put pieces of the meat and vegetables on the flattened bread slices, drizzle sauce and roll up to enjoy.
