Soy Sauce Chicken Sous Vide
Courtesy of Arthur Chang (siliconvalleysousvide.blogspot.com)
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole chicken (giblets removed)
- 3 coins fresh ginger, sliced julienne
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 scallions, cut in 2” (5 cm) pieces
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Shao Xing wine
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground white pepper
- 1/4 cup (48 g) sugar
- 3 cups (720 ml) water
- 1 or 2 additional chopped fresh scallions for garnish
(You’ll also need a heavy meat cleaver.)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme or Demi to 148F/ 64.5C.
- In a large bowl, make a marinade by combining all ingredients, except chicken, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- For vacuum sealing:
- Put the chicken into a large (gallon/ 3.8 l) vacuum sealable pouch for sealing with a chamber vacuum sealer, pour the marinade over the chicken, and vacuum seal.
- Put the chicken into a large (gallon/3.8 l) zip closure cooking pouch, pour the marinade over the chicken, filling the cavity, and seal using the displacement method (Archimedes Principle).
- Submerge the pouch(es) in the water oven to cook for 5 hours (to ensure the whole chicken is well cooked.)
- Remove chicken from the water bath and let stand (in the pouch) for 10 minutes. (Meanwhile ready your large cutting board and heavy meat cleaver.)
- To cut the chicken up for the traditional presentation:
- Remove the chicken from the pouch, reserving some of the liquid for sauce.
- Separate the legs and wings from the body at the joints.
- Using you cleaver, CAREFULLY chop the legs and wings into small pieces, chopping right through the bones. (BE CAREFUL!)
- Separate the breasts from the backbone by cutting horizontally from the bottom of the chicken to the neck on either side with poultry shears.
- Cut down through the breastbone to separate the breasts and chop them into pieces with the cleaver.
- Strain the pouch juices into a sauce pan and warm over medium heat on the stove
- For plating, arrange dark meat on the serving platter, place the breast meat on top, drizzle on the sauce made from the pouch juices, and garnish with the scallions.