I Feel Like Chicken Tonight

So excited to have an opportunity to break in the beautiful new Staub pot given to me and Hieu by my "sister wives" and their families, J and T. So, so excited. Also excited to cook from my new Molly Stevens book, All About Braising. Tonight A came over so we could catch up on our Top Chef episodes, so I figured it would be a fun time to cook.

I was thinking of cooking brisket or short ribs, but it seems like a lot of  Stevens' recipes prefer marinating and other time in advance of braising and I didn't get my act together in time for that. I decided to cook "Soy-Braised Chicken Thighs with Star Anise and Orange Peel."

First I preheated the oven and mixed the braising liquid, which was soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar, and chicken stock.

Next, I browned the chicken thighs in two batches. I was thinking of buying a splash guard, which Stevens recommends for another recipe, but didn't. I should have, because I dried my chicken after rinsing very well and it still spit a LOT. The Staub gave the chicken a good sear, though, which was awesome.

Stevens has a simple way of breaking up the recipe. She lists it as "browning," "the aromatics," "the braise," and "the finish." The intro to her book was great, as well. I thought I was a smart cookie, but she taught me tons about braising and why it makes food so yummy.

Anyway, next were the aromatics. After all the chicken was seared, I dumped the chicken fat and added a little bit of new oil. I added the white and light green part of the scallions, minced garlic, grated ginger, and a dried chile pepper. I stirred and then added the above braising liquid as well as 3 strips of orange zest and one whole star anise.

My fingers still smell like ginger right now, which is awesome. I think I like the smell of ginger more than the taste, though - and vice versa when it comes to garlic (love the taste more than the smell on my fingers). Neither Whole Foods nor Harris Teeter had the chile I needed - so we had to get it from the Hispanic market at the corner, which sold them in a bag of like 40. The picture there is not the actual bag I bought, but has about the same number of chiles. And it was only $2!

The chicken was then ready to braise. I double-checked the temperature in my oven to ensure it wasn't too hot. (I checked along the way, and since my oven runs hot, I keep an oven thermometer in there so I can adjust.) I put the chicken back in the Staub, including the juices they released in the platter on which they were resting.

In addition, I added the extra step for braising that Stevens recommends - putting a piece of parchment paper between the chicken and the lid. Stevens' point is that the closer the "lid" is to the chicken, the more exchanging of yummy juices there will be. By putting the parchment paper as close to the chicken as possible and then putting the actual lid on, you're setting yourself up for braise success. I did that and then put it into the oven. After 15 minutes I checked to make sure it had enough liquid and wasn't bubbling too hard, and all was good so I let it stay in the oven for another 30-35 minutes.

While that was braising, I prepared the side dishes, basmati rice and sauteed spinach, both of which were recommended by Stevens as great accompaniments in her book to this dish. While looking to the Almighty Bittman for a good spinach recipe, I found one for Spinach with Chiles - and it called for dried chiles! Score! (Interestingly, though, the recipe in the book was slightly different from the recipe in the app - I'm going to ask him about that and will let you know what he says).

When the chicken was done, I took the thighs out of the pot (and also removed the chile and the star anise). I brought the liquid in a pot back to a simmer and added the green parts of the scallions. Next I made a slurry - whipping corn starch with some water or broth and then putting that into the sauce to thicken it. Stevens was right when she wrote "the liquid will immediately thicken to a glossy sauce with the consistency of maple syrup." I then poured this yummy sauce over the chicken thighs and all was served family style.

As recommended by Stevens (well, recommended by Tim Gaiser, who is a Master Sommelier and who created wine pairings for all the dishes), I paired the dish with Polka Dot Medium Dry Riesling from the Pfalz region of Germany, and it was quite yummy with the food.

This meal was definitely a hit - can you go wrong with chicken thighs? I suppose you can - though the braising and the sauce were really quite good. This recipe is a keeper :)

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