Steamed Chicken

It's nearly bye-bye time for the Miele Steam Oven that I blogged about a few weeks ago. They're picking it up next week. During the three weeks that we had the privilege of trialling it, we cooked a varied number of dishes besides the fact that my kids used it a lot for re-heating food. They're actually sad that it's going soon.

One of the things I used it for is on embutido. Everyone knows that you have to steam them for 1 hour which is not a problem in this oven.

I found it very useful in steaming a batch of potatoes for one evening that we need it for mashed potatoes.

Several times I steamed veggies in it like these broccoli. It was excellent, the broccoli retained its vibrant green colour while being cooked through and full of flavour.

The one we were wanting most to steam was a fresh sea bass. We got our wish when we visited the Bull Ring Indoor Market in Birmingham and came away with a good sized one to steam Chinese-style.

I also managed to try new recipes like this steamed chicken that I adapted from my well thumbed Chinese Cuisine cookbook by Huang Su-Huei.


Steamed Chicken with Green Onion

1 kg  whole chicken of whole legs
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1 Tbsp salt
1 green onion - cut into 4 pieces
2 slices of ginger
1/2 cup shredded green onion
4 Tbsp shredded ginger
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water

1. Combine the cooking wine, salt, green onion (the one cut into 4 pieces), and the slices of ginger. Set aside.
2. Combine the cornstarch and water in another bowl. Set aside.
3. Wash the chicken and pat it dry.
4. Rub both the outside and inside of the chicken with the salt mixture. Leave the mixture inside the chicken. Let stand for 1 hour.
5. Place in a steamer breast-side up and steam over high heat for about 35 minutes.
6. Remove the chicken and reserve the liquid.
7. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and put in on a serving platter.
8. Sprinkle the shredded onion, ginger, and ground black pepper on top.
9. Heat 1/2 cup of the reserved steaming liquid up to a boil.
10. Stir in the cornstarch mixture. Let cook for a few seconds or until thick. Pour over the chicken.