Chicken Rou Zao With Rice
By: Christine
Published: Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 12:54pm

Ingredients




1 pound ground chicken thigh (or pork or mushroom)
2 large shallots, minced
4 medium size mushroom, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole star anise
3 cloves 
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons cinnamon
4 tablespoons Chinese five spice
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or agave syrup, honey, 
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
few drops of sesame oil

Preparation

1 Wrap and tie star anise and cloves in cheese cloth 2 Heat oil in a pot at medium heat. 3 Put in shallots and sauté slowly, about 3-6 minutes, or until translucent 4 Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. 5 Increase heat to medium-high and put in the chicken. Sauté until the chicken is cooked. 6 Reduce heat to low 7 Add in all the sauces and spices, except for sesame oil. 8 Make sure there is enough liquid almost covers the chicken. 9 Taste the dish. Add soy sauce if you want a saltier dish, spice if you want more aroma, or rice wine (or chicken broth) if you want to blend it down. 10 Simmer (lowest heat) for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally

About


This is a twist on a traditional Taiwanese dish.  I replaced the fatty and salty pork with lean ground chicken.  You can also use ground mushroom of your choice or lean ground turkey instead.  If you don't have rice wine, replace it with a cheap vodka. If you don't have Chinese five spice, replace it with a combination of cumin, more cinnamon, more star anise, and more cloves. White pepper can be replaced with finely grounded black pepper. You can also omit the mushroom and sesame oil. If you don't have cheese cloth, you can use coffee filter or teabag instead.