Mai Fun City Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Make the Sweet Chile Dipping Sauce: To a small saucepan, add water, vinegar, and sugar; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, roughly slice chiles and garlic. Place in a food processor with salt and pulse to a rough chop; add to the pot. Turn heat to low to maintain a steady simmer and cook, uncovered, until the liquid thickens slightly and becomes just slightly syrupy, 8-12 minutes. Cool to room temperature. The sauce will thicken further as it cools. Makes ¾ cup. You can store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for months; the flavor improves as the ingredients continue to meld.
• Make the Tamarind Dipping Sauce: To a small saucepan, add water, palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind paste. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Add chile powder; whisk to break up the palm sugar and tamarind pulp. Continue cooking on a low simmer, 5-8 minutes. Pour dipping sauce into a bowl and cool to room temperature. Makes about 1½ cups. You can store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for weeks.
• Make the Fried Shallot Oil: Set a fine-mesh strainer over a heat proof bowl. Set aside. Pour oil into a shallow pan a half-inch high. Set pan over high heat until oil is lightly bubbling, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the shallots by peeling, slicing in half, then thinly slicing with the grain into a julienne. When the oil is bubbling, turn heat to low and add the shallots and stir. Don't be tempted to rush the process with high heat: cook, stirring and scraping the sides occasionally and adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle sizzle, 5-10 minutes.
• When the oil stops bubbling and the shallots are starting to brown but still look raw, turn off heat. The residual heat will continue cooking the shallots. Continue stirring and flipping the shallots until they are a deep golden brown and crispy, another 1-2 minutes. Pour shallot oil through the strainer, reserving the flavorful oil. Gently shake the strainer to remove as much oil as possible, then transfer the shallots to paper towels to drain and cool in an even layer. As they cool down, they'll crisp up. Makes about ¼ cup fried shallots and ½ cup shallot oil. Storage: Fried shallots can be stored in a container, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Alternatively, cool the shallots completely, then place into an airtight container with a silica gel packet (available online) to keep fresh for several weeks. Shallot oil can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
• Brine: Whisk salt and sugar with 10 cups water in a large mixing bowl until the sugar and salt fully dissolve, 5 minutes.
• Slice lemongrass into 2-inch pieces; slice a 1-inch piece of ginger; place in mortar. Add white peppercorns, then lightly pound to bruise and slightly crush. Add to the brine. Place garlic cloves in the mortar; lightly pound and add to the brine. Roughly chop cilantro stems, briefly pound in mortar, and add to brine. Cut green onions into 3-inch pieces and add to brine.
• Place chicken breast-side down in a Dutch oven. Pour brine over the chicken to submerge. (If chicken isn't completely submerged, weigh it down with a plate.) Cover and refrigerate, 4-6 hours.
• Stuffing: Trim lemongrass ends and remove woody outer layer; slice into ⅛-inch rings. Firmly pound in the mortar until fragrant, 10 seconds. Add the salt and pepper, pound briefly. Roughly chop garlic with peel, add to mortar and pound, about 10 seconds. Roughly chop cilantro stems before adding to mortar and pestle; pound to lightly bruise. (Note: You can also use a food processor and pulse a couple times.)
• Remove chicken and discard the brine. Place chicken upright, cavity-side down, in a colander to drain. After draining, place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack; tuck wings under the breast. Spoon stuffing into the cavity. Place chicken, uncovered, back into the refrigerator to dry out, 6-8 hours.
• Marinade: In a small bowl, stir fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and pepper until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove chicken from refrigerator after 6 hours. Brush liberally with marinade on the top and sides (it's not necessary to brush the underside). Place chicken back in refrigerator, uncovered, 2 more hours.Basting glaze: In a small bowl, stir together honey and water. Set aside. 1 hour before roasting chicken, preheat oven to 350 F, preferably convection. (If your chicken is on the larger side, raise the heat to 375 F.)
• Roast chicken: Remove chicken from refrigerator, place directly into the oven, and roast for 15-20 minutes. Raise temperature to 400 F, baste chicken with fried shallot oil, rotate pan and continue roasting, 15 minutes. Raise temperature to 425 F, baste again with shallot oil, rotate pan and continue roasting, 15 minutes. Baste with honey glaze, rotate pan and roast for a final 7-8 minutes. (Total roasting time will be about 1 hour.)
• Chicken is done when skin is glossy and golden brown, and a thermometer inserted between the leg and thigh registers 155 F. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. (Chicken will continue cooking as it rests.)
• Serve: Place rested chicken on a cutting board. Using a cleaver or sharp knife, split chicken down the center of the breast bone. Turn chicken halves onto their sides; one half at a time, cut the wings off, followed by legs and thighs at the joint. Then, cut between the joint of each leg and thigh. Cut each breast into three pieces. Serve on a platter with Sweet Chile Dipping sauce and Tamarind Dipping Sauce. (Note: Stuffing is meant to be an aromatic-it's not inedible, but it shouldn't be eaten.)

Steps:

• Place the rice noodles in a pot of hot water and allow them to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
• While the noodles are soaking, heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the carrot and onion. Cook and stir until crisp tender. Stir in the cabbage, cooking and stirring for 1 minute longer.
• Add the chicken. Cook and stir for a few minutes until chicken is browned on all sides. Stir in the ginger, bean sprouts and eggs. Once the eggs are cooked, stir in the water, brown sugar and soy sauce. Continue to cook and stir until the chicken is cooked through.
• Drain the rice noodles and add them to the skillet. Season with salt, pepper or soy sauce, to taste.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Remove leg and thigh bone from each chicken leg, leaving meat and skin intact. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until mousse is ready. Grind the chicken breast meat twice through a meat grinder and place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process with the egg white until mixture is smooth, then place in a bowl over ice. When mixture is thoroughly chilled, beat in whipping cream 1/2 cup at a time. Season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and brandy. To test for flavor, poach a small spoonful of the mousse in simmering water. Taste and adjust seasoning and consistency. Add the drained seaweed.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the chicken legs out skin side down and place 1/2 cup of mousse in the center of each. Wrap each leg around mousse and place close together in a 2 inch deep pan for poaching. Heat the chicken stock to boiling and pour over all the legs. Cover pan with foil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until chicken and mousse are cooked through. Transfer chicken to a platter, reserving the chicken stock. Remove skin and cover with a damp towel. Keep warm until serving time.
• Strain the reserved chicken stock into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to 1 cup. Add cream, soy sauce, and lemon juice, and return to a boil. Thicken sauce with cornstarch and keep warm.
• Fry rice noodles in small batches in vegetable oil and drain well.
• To serve, line individual plates with crispy fried rice noodles and top with a piece of chicken.
• Spoon sauce over top and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Steps:

• Set up a grill for cooking with indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only.
• Thread the pork cubes onto eight 6-inch skewers, dividing evenly. Set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour and 1 teaspoon paprika. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs and 1 teaspoon paprika. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
• Dredge the skewers in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumb mixture, shaking off any excess in between. Place a large cast-iron pan on the direct-heat side of the grill. Add enough olive oil to come 1 to 1 1/2 inches up the side of the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the pork skewers in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan! Cook, allowing to deeply brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once all the skewers are browned, return them all to the pan, then move the pan to the indirect-heat side of the grill and finish cooking until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve!

Steps:

• The day before: Steam the chicken breasts until cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• While they are steaming, mix together the dressing ingredients (if you have a hand blender, emulsify them) and set aside.
• When chicken breasts halves are just cool enough to handle, shred them and place in a zip-loc bag.
• Pour dressing over the chicken.
• Press as much air as possible out of the bag and marinate overnight (in the refrigerator), turning over once or twice.
• Toast the almonds and sesame seeds in separate pans in a 300º oven until evenly browned.
• Stir them often and watch carefully as they both burn quickly.
• Cool and store in the refrigerator.
• The next day: In a small pot, heat 1 1/2- 2 inches oil until very hot.
• Drop in small amounts of Mai Fun noodles and watch them puff up!
• (takes about a second).
• Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels.
• Do this just before serving if at all possible.
• (If it's necessary to do ahead of time, let the puffed noodles cool completely and store in a ziploc bag or other air-tight container till ready to serve.) Put lettuce and scallions in a large bowl.
• Pour chicken and dressing over lettuce.
• Add oranges, almonds and sesame and toss to mix well.
• Top with Mai Fun noodles and serve.