STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
I learnt how to make Sugarcane Smoked Chicken from my friend’s mother a couple of years ago when I was invited to a potluck gathering at their relative’s house.
Her contribution was this mouthwatering sugarcane smoked chicken. It was so popular that it was all snapped up in no time. Thankfully, I managed to get my hands (and teeth!) on the last two pieces.
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The chicken was so soft and tender and the aroma was very unique which reminded me of the Szechuan Smoked Duck I have eaten decades ago at popular Szechuan Restaurant during the 70s.
This is quite a healthy dish to have because no oil is needed. In fact, the fats from the chicken is extracted out during the process of smoking. And it is very simple to fix a quick meal.
With permission and courtesy of her, I am now sharing this recipe with you. I hope you will like it as much as my family and friends do!
HOW TO MAKE SUGARCANE SMOKED CHICKEN?
Remove all the innards from the chicken cavity. Rub coarse salt on the skin to exfoliate and get rid of the chicken smell. Wash the chicken thoroughly and pat dry.
Rub the chicken with 3/4-1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper on the skin as well as the cavity of the chicken. Leave it in the fridge to marinate at least 4 hours or best overnight.
Brush the sugar cane under the running tap until it’s clean. Split the sugarcane into half.
Wash the cucumber and cut into slices. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate.
COOKING METHOD
Take out the chicken from the fridge and butterfly the chicken by cutting along the breast and spread it out.
In the wok, place 3 sheets of kitchen towel on the bottom of the wok. Then put 3 tbsp of brown sugar on the kitchen towel and spread out the sugar.
Place the sugarcane over the sugar in a crisscross manner to form a rack. Trim the sugarcane based on the size of your wok so that the sugar cane does not touch the sugar.
Place the butterflied chicken on top of the sugarcane rack with wings and thighs facing up.
Cover the wok and turn on the heat to medium high to smoke the chicken for about 25-30 mins.The smoke will cook the chicken giving it a smoky and woody aroma which fills the entire house.
Finally remove the chicken, chop it out and serve with the cold sliced cucumber.
MARKETING TIPS
- Using fresh chicken, rather than frozen chicken, will yield the most tender result.
- You can use either the purple coloured or the fat greenish-yellow coloured sugarcanes ( Kam Jia ) typically used for making sugarcane juice. The smaller and more slender sugarcane ( Teck Jia ) variant is more suited for making ‘liang cha’ or cooling herbal drinks.
COOKING TIPS
- To minimise the odour from the chicken meat, it is important to remove any feather remnants, especially their roots which contain stale blood, and to rub coarse salt over the chicken skin to get rid of the yellow membrane.
- Line the wok with paper kitchen towels to make for easier washing up! Otherwise, when the sugar melts, it will form a hard black crust in the wok which is very difficult to get rid of.
- Use a chopstick to pierce the thickest part of the thigh through to the bone. If the juice runs clear, the chicken is cooked.
- Be sure to collect the chicken drippings when cutting the chicken as it tastes heavenly beyond words!
- It is normal to see intense smoke coming out from the wok. If the smoke is too intense, turn the heat to medium.
- Chinese Tea Leaves, Cinnamon, Brown Rice, Sugar Cane Leaves (cut in 3cm length) can be added to the brown sugar according to your preference.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
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Sugarcane Smoked Chicken
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 Fresh Chicken approximately 1.4 kg
- 1 tbsp Coarse Salt to rub the chicken skin to remove the smell and yellow membrane of the skin
- 3/4- 1 tsp Salt (Himalaya Pink Salt) to marinate the chicken
- 1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper to marinate the chicken
- 2 20-25 cm long Sugar Cane to form a rack
- 3 TBsp Brown Sugar
Other Equipment
- 3 sheets Kitchen Towel to be placed at the bottom of the wok
- 1 Large Wok
Instructions
Preparation
- Remove all the innards from the chicken cavity. Rub coarse salt on the skin to exfoliate and get rid of the chicken smell. Wash the chicken thoroughly and pat dry.
- Rub the chicken with 3/4-1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper on the skin as well as the cavity of the chicken. Leave it in the fridge to marinate at least 4 hours or best overnight.
- Brush the sugar cane under the running tap until it is clean. Split the sugarcane into half.
Cooking Method
- Take out the chicken from the fridge and butterfly the chicken by cutting along the breast and spread it out.
- In the wok, place 3 sheets of kitchen towel on the bottom of the wok. Then put 3 tbsp of brown sugar on the kitchen towel and spread out the sugar.
- Place the sugarcane over the sugar in a crisscross manner to form a rack. Trim the sugarcane based on the size of your wok so that the sugar cane does not touch the sugar.
- Place the butterflied chicken on top of the sugarcane rack with wings and thighs facing up.
- Cover the wok and turn on the heat to medium high to smoke the chicken for about 25-30 mins. It is normal to see a small amount of smoke coming out from the wok. The smoke will cook the chicken giving it a smoky and woody aroma which fills the entire house.
- Finally, remove the chicken, chop it out and garnish with chilli, spring onion and parsley (optional)
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- Using fresh chicken, rather than frozen chicken, will yield the most tender results.
- You can use either the purple coloured or the fat greenish-yellow coloured sugarcanes typically used for making sugarcane juice. The smaller and more slender sugarcane variant is more flavourful and more suited for making 'liang cha' or cooling herbal drinks.
COOKING TIPS
- To minimise the odour from the chicken meat, it is important to remove any feather remnants, especially the roots of the feathers which contain stale blood. You can squeeze out the 'black heads' by using the 2 thumbs just like you squeeze out black head on our faces. After that rub coarse salt over the chicken skin, especially under the wings and on the grooves of the thighs, to get rid of the yellow membrane.
- Line the wok with paper kitchen towels to make for easier washing up! Otherwise, when the sugar melts, it will form a hard black crust in the wok which is very difficult to get rid of.
- Use a chopstick to pierce the thickest part of the thigh through to the bone. If the juice runs clear, the chicken is cooked.
- Be sure to collect the chicken drippings when cutting the chicken. The drippings taste heavenly beyond words!
- Open all your windows otherwise your house will be filled with smoke. If there is too much smoke, reduce the fire to medium.
I can confirm that this recipe is absolutely wonderful!