Khao Man Ghai Sunday….

Ok , where were we…time to catch up after a fabulous Sunday. I promised Kay, a fellow blogger – find her at @whatscookingmum  – this recipe. Here it is – a version of a Rick Stein recipe I saw years ago Khao Man Ghai…..that is…basically….poached chicken…but hey…what a poached chicken!

1.5kg free-range chicken / Freshly ground black pepper /  3 sticks of lemon grass, split / 5 garlic cloves a red chilli pierced /  Small piece of ginger peeled / tablespoon of cumin seeds / 6 spring onions, trimmed or 4 small shallots finely chopped / Handful of roughly chopped fresh coriander.

Pop the chicken in a large pan – I use a pasta pan. Pop half the coriander, half the onions, half the garlic and a stick of the lemon grass in the cavity. Then add the ginger, chilli, cumin seeds and the rest of the garlic, lemon grass, coriander and  onions to the pan. Grind over lots of black pepper and a sprinkle or two of rock salt. Top up the pan carefully with cold water until it is completely immersed. Pop a lid on – bring to the boil..then turn down the heat very low and leave for an hour.

When you take it out, be careful as you could end up with poultry carnage as the carcass will be close to falling apart. Transfer to a plate and skin. All of the meat will easily drop off the bone. This is a very, very economical dish as nothing is wasted. The stock can be used for a soup the next day. I served it with a saffron flavoured basmati rice and lightly stir fried choi sum in sesame seed oil…oh….and lots of different sauces e.g sweet chilli, plum. barbecue, hot chilli etc etc. After you have piled some chicken on the rice, ladle over a spoon or two of the wondrous stock. 

You get the general drift. It is an absolute winner of a dish – a real gem. All the plates were cleaned within an inch of their pattern! Beware!