• Chinese chicken rice

    Ingredients

    • Broth

    • 5ml (1 tsp) vegetable oil
    • 4 skinless chicken drumsticks
    • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
    • 2 spring onions, roughly chopped
    • 1 whole red chilli
    • juice of 1 lime
    • a small bunch of fresh coriander
    • 10ml (2 tsp) fish sauce
    • 1L (4 cups) clear chicken or vegetable stock
    • 1 lemon grass stalk, bruised
    • Roast chicken

    • 15ml (1 tbsp) hoisin sauce
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) oyster sauce
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) thick soya sauce
    • 4 large chicken breasts
    • To serve

    • red chillies, sliced
    • spring onions
    • steamed rice
    • cucumber, thinly sliced
    • fresh mint
    • fresh lime
    • deep-fried garlic

    Instructions

    1

    For the chicken broth, heat the oil in a large pot and fry the chicken drumsticks for 5 minutes.

    2

    Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the broth, adjust the seasoning and set aside.

    3

    For the roast chicken, combine the hoisin, oyster and soya sauces in a bowl and mix well. Place the chicken breasts skin-side up on a baking tray and spoon the sauce over them.

    4

    Roast in a preheated 200°C oven for 20 minutes, basting the chicken throughout until the skin is crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside.

    5

    To serve, ladle some of the broth into a small bowl and add a few sliced red chillies and spring onions. Slice the chicken through the bone into portions and place on the plate. Serve with steamed rice, cucumber, mint, lime and deep-fried garlic.

    Notes

    Cook the rice in flavoured stock instead of plain water. Add a bruised lemon grass stalk, a small bunch of fresh coriander and a few lime slices to the rice while it cooks – these flavours will steam beautifully into the rice. For the garlic, thinly slice a few garlic cloves and fry in hot oil for a few seconds until golden; be careful not to burn the garlic.