Chicken is a wonderful meat because it can be used in so many different dishes, from a cooked dinner, to Mexican wraps to an Italian pasta dish. Having recently learned to make a Chinese curry from scratch, I decided to utilise my new culinary skills and make Chinese spiced chicken with vegetable rice and boiled vegetables.
I made a marinade for the chicken by combining the following ingredients in a large bowl:
- About 6tbsp of olive oil (I coated the bottom of the mixing bowl. You need to make sure that you have enough so the mixture is wet enough to coat the chicken, but not so wet that the meat is drowning in oil).
- 1 tbsp of curry powder.
- 1 tbsp of paprika.
- 1 tbsp of mixed herbs.
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce.
- 1 tbsp of tomato purée.
- 1 tsp of tumeric.
- 1 tsp of garlic purée.
- Generous amounts of salt and pepper.
Although I understand that mixed herbs, garlic purée and tomato purée are not commonly used ingredients in Chinese cooking (to my knowledge) they help to create a richer, rounder flavour. You can ,of course, adjust the above quantities according to your own taste.
Once you have made your marinade mixture, add between eight and ten chicken legs to the bowl and mix everything about with a sturdy mixing spoon until the chicken is evenly coated. Leave in the mixture for up to four hours for all those lovely favours and scents to penetrate the skin and for the chicken to reach room temperature, and then cook in the oven on Gas Mark 6 or 200c for between 30 and 40 minutes or until the skin is crisp and the meat itself is white. Many people will tell you to stab the meat and check the knife. If the juices run clear the meat is meant to be cooked. For some reason I have never trusted this method - I think it's just paranoia, so if you (like me) want to be extra safe, then just take a knife and cut some of the chicken away from the bone. Check to make sure the meat is white, and if in doubt return to the oven for a further ten minutes.
Serve with rice, chips, vegetables or whatever you fancy. Eat them on their own if you like! If serving to young children you might want to remove the skin. Although the flavour is not overly hot (in fact it's quite mild) it might be a surprise to little mouths. For an additional cooling effect serve with savoury mint yoghurt.
