This recipe is for those prepared to plan ahead. It's a two-day marinading process that results in chicken that is fabulously tender and full of flavour. As usual, all measurements are roughly estimated, because who has time to put every single ingredient on a set of scales? I served my stew with seasonal and delicious broccoli lightly tossed in sesame oil, but you should chose whatever is seasonal to you. Chicken marinaded in this way also barbecues really well, by the way. So it's an ideal preparation for the summer months. Ingredients (3 portions) For the marinade 1 medium chicken (jointed)* 100 ml green seasoning** 1 large drizzle of Worcestershire sauce 1 slightly smaller drizzle of dark soy sauce 10 ml hot pepper sauce (I use Encona) 1 pinch of chilli powder 25 ml honey*** A sprinkling of nigella seeds A larger sprinkling of mustard seeds Plenty of freshly ground black pepper For cooking the chicken and rice 1 mug of mixed basmati and wild rice**** 5g tomato purée (I used a "sun-dried" variety) 2 banana shallots, finely diced 1 Scotch Bonnet chilli, finely diced 30ml vegetable oil 25g brown sugar 1 litre of brown chicken stock For the broccoli 1 broccoli head 15ml toasted sesame oil * For a video demonstration of how to break down a chicken, see this video post. ** For green seasoning, see this post. *** I used organic New Zealand forest honey but any honey that is clear and liquid at room temperature will work. **** Supermarkets now sell rice mixtures in which the wild rice has been part-cooked. If using separate wild rice, pre-cook in accordance with instructions. Method |
 | Gather together all of the marinade ingredients, ready for use. |
| Take your green seasoning out of the fridge. The vinegar in the mixture will have preserved the fresh green colour of the herbs. To learn how to make this marinade, see my Green Seasoning recipe. |  |
 | Place the chicken pieces into a large bowl. Using the point of a sharp kitchen knife, repeatedly stab the chicken. This will create gashes in the flesh which will allow for much deeper flavour penetration during the marinating process. Thanks to my Trini friends Sarina and Chennette for explaining the fine art of stabbing and gashing to me. I didn't include any scenes of chicken violence here so as not to upset those of a more delicate disposition. Add all of the marinade ingredients to the bowl. |
| Now mix everything thoroughly, massaging the flavours into the chicken. |  |
 | When you've had enough of massaging the chicken, make sure that each piece is sufficiently smothered with the marinade and cling film the bowl (after washing your hands of course). Put the bowl into the fridge and come back two days later. Yes, you could use it after a day, but 48 hours is best. Any longer than that is not advisable on health grounds. |
| You can use the tomato purée in the marinade process or later on during the cooking process. On this occasion I chose to leave it until browning the chicken, adding the tomato into the hot wok with the meat. |  |
 | Heat a large wok and add the vegetable oil. Let the oil become quite hot before adding the brown sugar. Now stir constantly until the sugar turns to caramel and flows freely. This will help create the golden brown colouring of the chicken that we want to achieve. Add the chicken to the very hot oil and sugar in the wok and allow to brown. |
| Get your finely diced shallots and chilli ready, because they'll come into the picture very shortly. |  |
 | When nice and browned, turn the chicken over and brown on the other side. Try to resist the temptation to keep the chicken moving in the wok, as this will bring the temperature down and prevent the chicken from browning properly. |
| I always measure rice in a mug. I go by half a mug per person, so for three people you will need a mug and a half. |  |
 | By now your chicken pieces should have browned enough. Getting good colour at this stage is vital to the colour of the end result. You'll find that, just like when making stocks, the darker you get the meat (or bones) when roasting, the darker the finished stew (or stock) will be. |
| I couldn't resist using this photo, just to give you an idea of how hot the wok needs to be. If like me you don't have an extractor over your stove, you might want to disconnect your smoke alarm before you begin! |  |
 | At this point you should add the rice, shallots and chilli. |
| Give it all a very good mixing with a spatula or wooden spoon, so as not to burn the raw rice grains on the wok. |  |
 | Now add your stock, which will gradually thicken through evaporation and will also absorb into the rice during the cooking. |
| Now we play the waiting game. The stew will take 30-40 minutes simmering on a low flame, which will give you ample time to prepare the broccoli to accompany it. |  |
 | Just a cooking note, if you think the stew is cooking a little too fast then don't hesitate to turn it to the minimum heat. The slower this cooks the more tender the chicken will be. If by any chance the stew begins to thicken before the rice and/or chicken is cooked properly, just add a little more stock or water. |
| You should now have some time away from the stew to prepare the broccoli. Chop off the thick stalks and then break down the broccoli (preferably by hand) into small florets. |  |
 | Prepare some salted boiling water and, very crucially, a bowl of ice water. Plunge the broccoli into the boiling water and allow just to soften slightly. After about 15 seconds, remove the florets into the ice water. This will prevent the residual heat from cooking the broccoli any further. When cold, remove from the ice water and keep on a plate by the stove. |
| If you can anticipate when the stew is about 2 minutes from being ready, place a frying pan over a high heat. Add a little sesame oil to the pan and immediately throw in the broccoli. Stir fry the broccoli while continuously moving around the pan. Sesame oil burns quite easily, so it's important not to allow that to happen, leaving a bitter taste. |  |
 | Now it's all ready, all that's left to do is to eat it. Enjoy! |
