Red-Cooked Chicken

PaulaG's Note:

Another great recipe compliments of Cuisine at Home. It was suggested as a week-night meal since it so easy to prepare; however, it also makes a nice presentation for a small gathering of friends.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (10 ounce) bottle low sodium soy sauce
• 1⁄3; cup dry sherry
• ½ cup green onion , sliced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 slices fresh ginger
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick , 3 to 4 inches
• ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 skinless chicken leg quarters
• 2 -3 green onions , sliced

Directions:

1. Over high heat, bring the first 8 ingredients to a boil in a large saute pan.
2. Add the chicken and cover; reduce heat to medium.
3. Simmer for 3o minutes, turn chicken over; cover and continue to cook an additional 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil.
5. Boil the braising liquid, uncovered, until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Strain through a sieve and spoon off any fat that rises.
7. Brush sauce onto chicken to coat; garnish with sliced scallions and serve with extra sauce for dipping.

Reviews

[Victoria20]

With 10 ounces of soy sauce I knew this would be salty (especially when the sauce is reduced), so I used 2/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce and it still was too salty. If I make this again, I'll reduce the low-sodium soy sauce to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup of low-sodium chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of water to make up the liquid. And add a bit of hot sauce, too.

[Sharlene~W]

It was easy to prepare (although if you don't have star anise on hand it might be difficult to find--3 stores and finally paid $7.49 for a bottle even though I only needed 2 pods), with the flavor of Chinese 5-spice. Definitely use low sodium soy sauce as this was a bit on the salty side even with the low sodium variety. Surprisingly, the sauce doesn't soak through the meat--just gives a nice flavor and coloring to the outside. I used 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and didn't discern any heat from them, so I would use a bit more next time. I used boneless, skinless chicken breast halves with good success with a reduced cooking time. I'm a fan of Cuisine at Home so was happy to select this recipe for Zaar tag.