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December 17, 2012Soy-Glazed Black Pepper Chicken Recipe (The Hakka Cookbook)
One of the most interesting Asian cookbooksreleased this year had no color photographs. Yes, no food porn was in The Hakka Cookbook by Linda LauAnusasananan. In an era where readers love to cook with their eyes, it was agutsy move on UC Press to publish a cookbook only graced by simple watercolors.Without photos to distract, you have to read and flip each page (imagine that!),following the author’s journey through a cuisine and culture.
The HakkaCookbook may seem like it’s for Chinese food geeks -- there are maps,Chinese characters and Romanized pinyin Mandarin. The book begs you to spend timewith it. Once that you start looking at it, you’ll be stuck in your chair for at least agood hour. You’ll pick out familiar dishes seen on Chinese restaurant menus.
For example, the panfried stuffed tofu served at dim sum, food hawker stalls,and made at home are foundationally Hakka. It's a classic and I checked in with Linda while developing the recipe in Asian Tofu.
I first encountered the Hakka in Hong Kong when Iwas student there in the early 1990s. The older Hakka women often farmed whilewearing their distinctive hats. My friend at the time, Melanie, told me that the women were tough. That scared me a little, especially because my Cantonese was nonexistent and my Mandarin was rough.
So it’s taken nearly 20 years for me to finallyget in depth knowledge of the Hakka people and their food. The Hakka are agroup of Han Chinese people that have migrated from their home in China toinhabit many far corners of the globe, influencing Asian cooking wherever they go.Moreover, the Hakka are the resourceful masters of fusion cooking simplybecause they found themselves far from home. They cooked and adapted theirfoodways to their circumstances. Those are among the points that Linda aims toshow you in her book.
She’s Hakka and the book details how she traveledand connected with people all over for her collection of recipes in The Hakka Cookbook. She is curious,skeptical, and many times comically honest in her assessment of what sheexperiences along the way. A former food editor of Sunset magazine, Linda’s recipe writing is straightforward. There’slittle fuss and waste. In other words, she’s a pro. I’ve been waiting forLinda’s book for many years and without hesitation wrote an endorsement blurbfor the cover.
When I recently sat down with the final book, Ipaged through and was instantly attracted to this Chinese-Indian chicken dish.It seems similar to a homey Viet recipe I read in Lam Bep Gioi, the Joy ofCooking equivalent in 1940s Vietnam. It’s also akin to the chicken andginger in caramel sauce recipe in Intothe Vietnamese Kitchen.
In all instances, the idea is simple: simply seasonthe chicken and let it gently cook in its own juices. With this dish, whichLinda got from a Chinese family that lived in India for years, the totalcooking time is about 45 minutes, after which the chicken is imbued with flavor. With just a handful ofingredients involved, I was double sold.
And if you’re wondering about Chinese-Indian food– you should pick up a copy of TheHakka Cookbook. You’ll get the answer and lots more -- personal storiesand a terrific collection of recipes to cook from.
The recipe below was adapted from The Hakka Cookbook (UC Press, 2012). Theoriginal recipe called for 6 chicken thighs but I threw in a drumstick to seewhat would happen. It was fine. The thighs cook more evenly because of theirflatter shape.
RECIPE
Soy-GlazedBlack Pepper Chicken
Yields3 servings as a main dish, 4 to 6 with as part of a multicourse meal.
Ingredients
2 pounds / 1 kg total bone-in, skin-on chickenthighs or combination of thighs and drumsticks1 tablespoon freshly ground or cracked blackpepper2 tablespoons dark soy sauceCilantro leaves, for garnishInstructions
Trim any large pads of fat or excessive flaps ofskin each thigh. Rinse and pat dry.Find a large pot or deep large skillet that willfit all the chicken in one layer. In that pot or skillet, mix the pepper andsoy sauce. Add the chicken, and use your hands to coat each piece with theseasonings. Peel back the skin to swab the flesh with seasonings too. Arrangethe chicken, skin side down, in one layer. The bottom should be nearly covered.Cover and set over medium-low heat. When you hearlight bubbling, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 15 minutes, untilthe skin has turned dark brown. Turn the chicken over and continue cookinggently for 20 to 25 minutes, until done (cut or poke with a knife to test).Check on progress during cooking to ensure there’s liquid in the pot, adding alittle water if things are dry.Transfer the chicken to a plate. Skim off the fatfrom the pan juices, then pour the dark liquid over the chicken. Garnish withcilantro and serve.Note:The chicken was great hot, warm, or cold. The pan juices were great mixed intorice. I used a tablespoon of the skimmed fat for stir-frying green beans fordinner, adding a splash of the pan juices for seasoning.
Have anyexperience with Hakka people, food or cooking?
More recipes from 2012 Asian Cookbooks:
Homemade Bun Rice Noodles from Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles PhanFaux Viet Crab Noodle Soup from Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andres PohlFried Ginger Chicken from Japanese Farm Food by Nancy HachisuPork Belly, Pickled Mustard Greens and Tofu from Burma by Naomi DuguidPosted in Asian Food Culture, Cookbooks, Recipes: All, Recipes: Chinese, Recipes: Fast and Easy, Recipes: Gluten-Free , Recipes: Main Course, Recipes: Meat, Recipes: Poultry and Eggs | Permalink | |
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One of the most interesting Asian cookbooksreleased this year had no color photographs. Yes, no food porn was in The Hakka Cookbook by Linda LauAnusasananan. In an era where readers love to cook with their eyes, it was agutsy move on UC Press to publish a cookbook only graced by simple watercolors.Without photos to distract, you have to read and flip each page (imagine that!),following the author’s journey through a cuisine and culture.
The HakkaCookbook may seem like it’s for Chinese food geeks -- there are maps,Chinese characters and Romanized pinyin Mandarin. The book begs you to spend timewith it. Once that you start looking at it, you’ll be stuck in your chair for at least agood hour. You’ll pick out familiar dishes seen on Chinese restaurant menus.
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