Salty braised chicken

INGREDIENTS for 2 large servings

Meat department

• Chicken breast (any cut is fine) - 1 lb

Produce department

• Ginger, 1/2" thick slices - 3

• Garlic, minced - 2 tbsp (or 6-8 cloves, crushed)

• Green onions - 3 whole, roots removedSubstitute: Leek - 1/2 whole

• Green onions - 2 tbsp, finely diced

• (Optional) Veggies or other sides: Broccoli florets, broccolini, bamboo slices, green beans, cabbage, tofu puffs, etc

Spice rack & Baking aisle

• Salt

• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp

• Five-spice powder - 1/2 tsp

• Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp

• Star anise - 2.5 whole, crushed

• Szechuan pepper, ground - 1/4 tsp

• White pepper - 1/2 tsp

International aisle

• Sesame oil - 1+1 tbsp

Specialty items

• Michiu (Taiwanese "Honbiou" cooking rice wine) - 1+2 tbsp

DIRECTIONS

1. Make a few deep cuts on the chicken breasts to help the marinade soak in. Marinade the chicken overnight.

Marinade:

1. • Salt - 1/2 tsp

   • Black pepper - 1/2 tsp

   • Five-spice powder - 1/2 tsp

   • Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp

   • Star anise - 2.5 whole, crushed

   • Szechuan pepper, ground - 1/4 tsp

   • White pepper - 1/2 tsp

   • Michiu - 1 tbsp

2. In a small pot, bring 4 cups of water to boil.

3. (Optional) Add the optional veggies to the boiling water. Cooking time for the veggies may vary. For non-veggie items like tofu puffs, cook them in a separate pot of water as the tofu may alter the flavor of the broth.

   • Broccoli, broccolini 2-3 minutes

   • Green beans, bamboo slices 6-8 minutes

   • Cabbage 10-12 minutes

While the veggies are cooking, prepare a large bowl with iced water. Once the veggies are done, transfer the veggies from the broth to a bowl of iced water to cool. Remove the cooled veggies and set aside.

4. In the same pot with veggie broth, add ginger (3 slices), garlic (2 tbsp or 6-8 whole), green onions (3 whole, or leek 1/2 whole), and sesame oil (1 tbsp). Bring the water to a boil.

5. Remove the crushed star anise from the chicken.

6. Place the chicken in the pot and cover with lid. Keep the pot boiling for 8 minutes and turn off the heat. Leave the pot tightly lidded for another 30 minutes so the chicken can be cooked through with residual heat.

7. Transfer the cooked chicken to the large bowl with iced water to allow to cool.

8. While the chicken is cooling, in a bowl, mix the diced green onions (2 tbsp), salt (1 tsp), sesame oil (1 tbsp), and the broth from cooking the chicken (3/4 cup).

9. Once the chicken is cool to handle, shred or cut them to bite-size pieces.

10. Toss the chicken, veggies, and green onion mixture together. The dish can be served right away, although, it tastes even better once the flavor is soaked in more.

11. Refrigerate if served at a later time.