Why you shouldn't ask for recipes from relatives in China.......

Years ago, when we were living in Rowland Heights, I loved the Dao Ko Chicken from, of all places the deli case of Hong Kong Market. Wanting to make this, and unable to find any recipes, the Missus asked Her Mom to ask relatives in China for a recipe. And this is what we received. this may be the only time you'll see me use the word "Authentic" in a post.........say hello to an "Authentic" Chinese recipe!

道口烧鸡做法
将鸡宰杀，放在60-70`C热水中烫5分钟去毛挖去内脏将翅膀和鸡嘴插在一起将鸡腿插在鸡肚里，凉干水分后进油锅炸，油温80`C左右炸1-2分钟使鸡颜色变浅黄色，如是小鸡炸前涂上糖色时间要多炸1-2分钟，炸完后
放入煮过鸡的老汤里煮2-4小时煮的其间要翻个，汤要浸过来，盐糖根据口味（如第一次做加水加佐料）
煮鸡用的料（中药房应有卖的）这是每30只鸡的用料量可按比例加减。
陈皮二钱 肉桂冠五钱 白芷五钱 良姜五钱 草果一钱半 砂仁一钱 豆寇一钱 丁香半钱 毕卜一钱 大桂香二钱莳梦子二钱 做成料袋。盐度18-21`糖度21-24`（化学方面）

50克=1两 1两=10钱 1钱=5克

Just for your entertainment, it starts out with "kill the chicken", "put into hot water for 5 minutes",  "get rid of the feathers and innards....", "fold the wings and beak together, fold the legs into the stomach".... you get the picture. I guess this assumes you're able to "catch the chicken in the first place." It even goes into "degrees of salinity", which is what happens when you ask Chemists for a recipe...... I love my In-Laws dearly, they know I enjoy Dao Ko Chicken so much, that they went through the effort to hunt down the Missus's "Uncle in Law" for the recipe.

We actually tried making this......step by step, shopping for all the strange herbs, making a dark medicinal broth which created a potent toxic cloud(good thing we were still renting at the time)....and then the Missus read the part about the recipe being for 30 chickens!

All to create the elusive Dao Ko Chicken I love so much......anyone have a recipe, where I don't have to "kill the chicken"? To add insult to injury, shortly after we tried making this, Hong Kong Market discontinued their cold deli. And though we've had other versions of the chicken, they were never quite as good. But of course, there's always a "silver lining", the Missus was taking a creative writing course, and wrote an essay about this debacle.....and got an "A" for her class! I never got the chicken though......

Stat tuned for more restaurants tomorrow! 

Comments

[henry]

did your site just get hacked or you changed the template?

its kinda slow now and its a bit ugly imho

the other one was much brighter, glee-er

[Kirk]

Hi Henry - Don't worry, it's changed back - I just wanted to see how all the posts would line up if I changed. Sheesh, only changed it for 5 minutes! You guys are quick.

[Taka]

The recipe is so scientifically detailed... and *gasp* its in Celsius! I guess what you could do is drive to a farm a buy a whole chicken. You wouldn't want to waste missus' uncle in law's efforts ya know.

[reid]

Kirk,

Interesting story. It would be interesting if you actually made this then shared the results. But since it's for 30 people, maybe you should invite the in-laws too! :)

[Tommylovebottom]

When I lived in Chengdu we had a maid who claimed that her hometown had the best chicken...One day she returned from a trip home ..with a chicken..A live chicken. It was in a burlap sack in our bathroom after I got home from work.Neither my wife or I knew what to do with it...We had a neighbor dispatch of it and cook it for us. Tasty indeed... BTW,This is the same maid that had two recipes already thought up about our French Bulldog..She would often tell my wife that the dog is too much trouble and that he is getting some good fat on him...

[kat]

wow, killing your own chicken reminds me of a story which my mom told me of their father killing a goose, letting it drain and then after several hours taking the goose down. It ran around even though it had no blood in it...she's never eaten goose again...

[Kirk]

Hi Taka - I dunno, we already tried this once.....

Hi Reid - I'm not quite sure I want to try this again...but maybe, just maybe.....

Hi TLB - That's too funny....but it sounds sooooo Chinese!

Hi Kat - I don't think I'd eat goose again if that happened to me either!

[foodhoe]

wow, the missus' folks sound like serious foodies...

[Tommylovebottom]

ALL Chinese know their food.There are no "foodies" in China because everyone appreciates food.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - They just wanted to make me happy!

Hi TLB - Correction; all Chinese, all Asians, for that matter(present company included) "think" they know their food! he-he-he......

[Jeff C]

Kirk,
this is so funny. My wife was looking up recipes for a sichuan chicken dish called Ko Shui Ji or mouthwatering chicken. She had to go to a mainland china site and they listed getting a chicken and killing it and doing the whole processing bit. Talk about getting your food fresh.
The way gas prices are going and also the local food movement, we may just have to start processing our chickens the same way.

[Kirk]

Hi Jeffrey - It doesn't get much fresher than that, does it?