Chicken and rice

This was last night’s dinner. My husband and I were watching some TV while the kids were finishing their school projects. There was this advert for a local Chinese fast food chain introducing more rice toppings in its menu. Knowing from experience that the real thing is far from how it is represented in the advert, I made some scornful remark about it. At the same time, I decided I’d make a “topping” dish for dinner. No extenders like the fast food stuff. Just all the goodness. It was good that the chicken had already been thawed and we had enough leftover rice.

Ingredients :

For the braised chicken :

1 whole chicken (about 1 kilo in weight), chopped into 24-28 pieces
1 whole garlic, peeled and minced
2 onions, chopped
8 tbsps. of cooking oil
1/2 c. of oyster sauce
salt and pepper

For the fried rice :

6 c. of cold cooked rice, mashed to separate the grains
1 carrot, cut into very small cubes
1/2 c. of (canned) whole corn kernels, drained
8-10 pcs. of straw mushrooms (canned or fresh), halved
1/2 head of cabbage, finely shredded
1 tbsp. of finely chopped parsley OR 2 tbsps. of finely chopped onion leaves
1 tsp. of sesame seed oil
3 eggs, beaten

Cooking procedure :

Heat a large wok or skillet. Pour in the cooking oil. Cook the eggs until the edges are lightly browned. Remove the cooked eggs, chop coarsely and set aside.

Reheat the oil. When smoking, add the chicken pieces and cook over very high heat, stirring, until no longer pink. Add the garlic and onions and continue cooking for another five minutes. Add the oyster sauce; season with salt and pepper. Stir well. If the mixture appears too dry, add half a cup of water. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes. The short cooking time is based on the small size of the chicken pieces. If you have larger cuts, cooking time will be longer.

The mixture should be almost dry by the time the chicken pieces are cooked. Remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Keep warm.

Reheat the remaining liquid (all the flavors are in the liquid and oil that remains in the wok or skillet) and add the carrot cubes and shredded cabbage. Cook, tossing for about a minute. Add the halved straw mushrooms and corn kernels. Cook just until heated through. Add the rice and cook, tossing, until the rice is heated through. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. Just before turning off the heat, add the chopped eggs, parsley or onion leaves and sesame seed oil. Toss a few more times.

To assemble: Transfer the fried rice to a large serving bowl. Push the rice to the sides to make a hollow at the center. Placed the braised chicken pieces inside the hollow. Serve at once.