Forbidden City Chicken
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 small broiler chickens, split
Sesame seeds
Arrange the chicken halves skin side up in one layer in a baking pan. In a bowl mix together the soy sauce, melted butter, curry powder, cinnamon, ginger, garlic and Tabasco sauce. Spread the mixture over the chicken and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the chicken and bake uncovered for about 1 hour, until the chicken is golden.
Serves 4.
Five-Spice Powder Blend
2 teaspoons aniseed, crushed
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container. Use to flavor fish or pork.
Yields 1/4 cup.
Five Spice Chicken (Wu Hsiang Chi)
Place 2 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces in a dish. Mix the following and pour over the chicken.
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon crushed aniseed
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
Cover and refrigerate, basting periodically, for at least 1 hour. Place chicken in an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Brush marinade on chicken. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour, basting twice more during baking.
Egg Rolls (Chi Tan Chuan)
Serve these with two dipping sauces, one sweet and one hot.
1 pound ground pork
3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 (8 1/2 ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
4 scallions, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 pound egg roll skins (16 to 18)
Vegetable oil
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Hot Mustard Sauce
Stir-fry pork in wok or 10-inch skillet until brown. Remove pork from wok; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons fat. Stir-fry cabbage, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and scallions in reserved fat. Mix soy sauce, cornstarch, five spice powder, salt and sugar; pour over vegetable mixture. Stir-fry 1 minute; cool.
Mix pork and vegetables. Cover egg roll skins with damp towel to prevent drying. Place 1/4 cup pork mixture on center of each egg roll skin. Fold one corner of egg roll skin over filling; overlap the two opposite corners. Moisten fourth corner with water; fold over to make into roll.
Heat 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches of oil to 360 degrees F. Fry 3 to 5 egg rolls at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 3 minutes; drain.
Serve hot with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Hot Mustard Sauce.
Makes 16 to 18 egg rolls.