Steamed Chicken in Hakka Style
Tonight is Chinese Lunar New Year Eve
Chinese tradition is to have family reunion on the eve.
in the reunion chicken is a must dish
here is a chilled chicken
weighs around 1 kg
for the dish "Steamed Chicken in Hakka Style"
ginger in moderate amount
moderate amount of green onions
rinse the chicken thoroughly
after cleaning the chicken
hang it to drain the water
this takes around 30 mins
to marinate the chicken
salt 2 tsp
wipe completely in and out the chicken with salt
crush the ginger
squeeze the ginger juice on to the chicken
this ginger residue is reserved to fill into the chicken cavity
wipe in and out again
pour in 2 tbsps "hua tiao chiew "(Shao Hsing wine) and wipe again
wipe inside also
fill the ginger residue into the chicken cavity
you can fill with ginger slices if don't want the ginger residue
fill in the green onions
marinate it for 2 hrs
reverse the chicken after 1 hr's time
if the chicken is kept in refrigerator during marination
place it to warm up to room temperature
it can be kept in refrigerator overnight
how long to steam a chicken
depends on the size of each
this one takes 25 mins
place it in while water is boiling
steam for 15 mins on high heat first
turn the heat to middle afterwards
for the rest 10 mins
after 15 mins
turn to middle heat
to steam for rest 10 mins
it is steamed
totally 25 mins
turn off the heat and rest for 10 mins
lid off
use a chopstick to test if it is cooked
if it is easily penetrated and no blood is seen
the chicken is cooked
let it cool down
to chop or tear into parts
fortune meaning in family reunion is dominated
beginning and end is both desired
the chicken head and tail are reserved in this occasion only