Love Me Plus 3: Chinese White Cut Chicken

Lotus had been promising an introduction to her mom for about 10 years. There would be tours of Chinatown, wok shopping, Mandarin lessons and most definitely a meal. For our first encounter, a meal seemed more than ample. T'would be Chinese White Cut Chicken, a 3-ingredient doosie that Lotus had raved about.

So here we were, Lotus' brothers, Lotus, Mom (heretofore Lotusseed) and I, scarfing down some Chinatown congee, dumplings and noodles before dinner. Some people might prepare for dinner with an afternoon of shopping, perhaps a tennis game, or by catching a Sunday football game. Lotus' family prepares to eat by eating. Takeout was followed by a fruit salad, tea, more fruit and finally dinner. It's amazing Lotus' family aren't contestants on The Biggest Loser, but I promise you, they're svelte.

I hung out in the kitchen with mom and snapped pics. This dish has very few ingredients; it's 100% technique. I've had boiled chicken on any number of occasions; none of them particularly positive memories.

Lotusseed takes it a step further and ensures a perfectly moist bird with gentle cooking. She actually turns the heat off and lets the bird cook in hot water. I asked her 87 ways to Sunday if she was sure the heat should be off, and after 50 years of cooking on two continents she assured me that yes, the heat should off.

The bird is outrageously fresh and so moist I even enjoyed the white meat. The skin never completely crisps (it's boiled, afterall), but think of it as you would the ubiquitous braised pork belly, perfect in it's rich, indulgent, non-crispy fattiness. Give it a go. That soft fat is Lotusseed's favorite part as well as mine; enjoy it knowing you're in good company.

But the best part of the cooking lesson was the conversation. You see, Lotusseed is the daughter of an herbalist who has a shop in Manhattan's Chinatown. She was raised knowing that food is health, life, restorative sustenance, and preventative medicine. She can tell you the benefits of different herbs, vegetables, and broths. She showed me no less than four soups she had brought to nourish Lotus into a healthy fall and winter.

In all the classes I've taken and kitchens I've worked in, I've never heard someone speak about food in this way. It was not about presentation, or reduced fat, or how quickly you could get it on the table. It was about raising four healthy children using all your inherited knowledge to make the best tasting, most nourishing, most loving food you possibly could.




So before you look askance at that beak-to-claw bird, remember; it's a good thing. It's good luck, it's wholeness, it's completion. Look at that bird and marvel at how healthy it is, and how it's about to become a part of your own body. Look at how perfect the skin is; how clear the eyes are. It's not just about covering your Foreman with nonstick spray and throwing an anonymous chicken breast on it; consider the life and the animal you're about to consume, and take a moment to consider your good fortune in being on this side of the stove.

Bon Appetit!

White Cut Chicken
Serves 4 to 6 for dinner with a pot of steamed rice.

Thumb of ginger (about an inch)
1/2 pound pork belly (a single slice)
1 4 pound chicken, head and feet on
Coarse salt
Scallion Ginger sauce (optional, recipe follows)

1. Heat a large pot of water. No not that one, a bigger one. I'm talking lobster pot.

2. Peel the ginger, and slice thinly with a vegetable peeler. Add it to the pot and fill the pot with water. Bring to a simmer, add the pork and return to a boil.

3. Prepare the chicken: take the feet out of the belly (it comes that way from the shohet, kidding of course, go to Chinatown), and remove the innards. Rinse the bird with water and use the salt to scrub that baby down. Look at how healthy (and dead, yes dead, but this was once alive) this animal is; admire the evenness of the skin, the eyes, and the abundant health that will now go on to nourish you. Rinse and scrub well, inside and out, and season again.

4. Now that the water has returned to a boil, grab the chicken by it's neck, and gently dunk it in the boiling water, 8 or 10 times, to warm up the chicken inside and out. Submerge the chicken and wait until water returns to boil. Cover the pot and turn off the heat.

5. Let the bird cook gently in the hot water for one hour and fifteen minutes, or until completely cooked through. Remove the chicken and the pork from the water, season again, and let rest on a platter for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with Scallion Ginger sauce, if desired.


Scallion Ginger Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

2/3 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/3 cup chopped peeled ginger

Heat peanut oil until hot enough for frying, about 350F. Place scallions in ginger in a medium bowl. Pour hot oil over scallions and ginger; let cool. Season with salt and hot pepper if desired. Serve as a dipping sauce with poultry. Will keep up to 5 days if refrigerated.