Soy-braised chicken

Slow braising is an art. The meat, or vegetables, are cooked for an extended time period in the sauce allowing the spices and herbs to penetrate the meat well. Today, a lot of chefs use a pressure cooker, quick and convenient, but the flavours never turn out the same. The meat will be tender, often overcooked, and the flavours in the sauce or curry will never be well integrated. Slow cooking allows the Maillard reactions, reactions where proteins are denatured and re-constituted with fats, to occur naturally and gradually. The slow Maillard reactions allow for deeper flavours to develop over time.

This is an intense dish. The bold soy sauce permeates the chicken. The jaggery adds a light sweetness to complete the flavour profile. This is a simple dish but one that always turns out well.

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Ingredients:

2 lb chicken, cut

1 tablespoon Szechwan peppercorns, ground fine

2 tablespoons ginger paste

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon palm sugar or jaggery

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons oil

2 cups water

Thai basil, torn roughly

Toss the chicken with all the ingredients except oil and water, and marinate for 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Heat the oil in a wok or pan. Add the marinated chicken and cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes till the marinade has dried up and the sauce coats the chicken.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover the wok and simmer gently for 40 minutes, turning the ingredients over occasionally. Towards the end of the cooking time, make sure you have enough liquids in the pot and refill with water as needed. Taste for salt.

Serve hot, garnished with basil and accompanied with rice.