Instructions: Chicken is the most highly regarded of all poultry in China. To impress a guest a Chinese hostess might announce that she has killed a chicken in his honour. It is frequently served on special occasions on birthdays and at festivals and banquets. At our family gatherings chicken was always the centrepiece. Early every Sunday morning my mother would bring home a live chicken from the market in Chinatown in Chicago where we lived. Its noisy clucking would usually wake me up. The chicken would be quickly despatched and then prepared in one of many ways. One of my favourites was when it had been slowly poached and then served with a soy sauce and spring onion dipping sauce.

In China most homes do not have ovens and poultry is usually roasted by professional cooks. Homecooked chicken is braised stirfried deepfried steamed or simmered. One of the virtues of chicken is that its distinctive but mild flavour blends very well with other seasonings spices and sauces. It is a very versatile bird and is almost as popular in China as pork.

The Chinese prefer to buy their chickens live to ensure that they are at their freshest when cooked. Obviously this is almost impossible in the West! In Europe and North America there are plentiful supplies of relatively inexpensive chicken but because of modern farming methods commercially produced chickens tend to lack taste. Frozen chicken is especially bland. Try to buy a fresh chicken for Chinese cooking. It should have a healthy pinkish colour a fresh smell and be firm in texture. If possible buy freerange chickens.

Not only have they been raised by more humane methods but their taste is far superior. Whole cooked chickens are never carried to the table to be carved but are always chopped into bitesized pieces before being arranged on a platter. However many of the recipes in this chapter can be made with chicken pieces rather than with a whole chicken. All parts of the chicken are used in China. The dark meat from the thighs and drumsticks is especially prized for its superior flzvour. Roasting chickens are the most suitable for frying steaming and braising. If possible use boiling fowl for stock to give you a rich liquid with a good flavour. Poussins are also suitable for stirfried dishes.

Fresh chicken should be cooked as soon as possible. Keep it cold until you are ready to use it. If you wish to store the chicken first remove any wrapping and the giblets. Rinse it carefully in cold water and blot it completely dry with kitchen paper. Wrap it loosely in clingfilm and put it in the refrigerator where it will keep for two days. If you are using frozen chicken be sure to thaw it thoroughly before proceeding with the recipe.

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