The traditional recipe for this chicken was made by heating rock salt in a wok, then burying the chicken in the hot salt and cooking on the stove, as most homes in China did not have ovens. The modern convenience of having an oven makes it much easier to control the cooking temperature. Oven-roasting produces a skin that is crisp, golden brown, and mellow in flavor, with exceptionally juicy and flavorful meat. Mei Kuei Lu Chiew tastes a little like grappa. It’s hard to believe 2 tablespoons makes much of a difference, but the liquor contributes fragrance and sweetness to the chicken. If unavailable, grappa and vodka are adequate substitutes.
Ingredients
With this recipe, the only thing you have to cook is the pasta. My cousin Edda makes it all summer long. This is the freshest, purest-tasting recipe I have found for a sauce of raw tomatoes and uncooked seasonings. You rub a bowl with garlic, dice up ripe tomatoes, leaving their skin and seeds intact, tear a few leaves of fresh herbs over the tomatoes, twirl in a thread of olive oil and finish with salt and pepper. Nothing could be easier, or taste better. In some country houses, you might find capers and oregano in the bowl, or hot pepper and crushed garlic, or mint or even celery leaves. Everything in this dish is about what the country cook has on hand.
Ingredients
Ingredients
I like to use organic vegetables. Keeps 5 days in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
Ingredients