{"id":2867,"date":"2014-11-21T10:22:24","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T15:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/?p=2867"},"modified":"2014-11-21T10:31:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T15:31:00","slug":"soy-sauce-chicken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/soy-sauce-chicken\/","title":{"rendered":"Tired of Thanksgiving Turkey? Try Soy Sauce Chicken"},"content":{"rendered":"

As immigrants, our Thanksgiving tables are likely to be vastly different from\u00a0the garden variety spread of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.<\/p>\n

Two months ago, I was talking to people about their melting-pot Thanksgiving food traditions for an article that just came out in edibleDC<\/em>\u00a0magazine<\/a>. The menus ranged from the conventional, to mash-up, to completely brand new.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how I met Theresa Chen, a communications specialist who lives in Arlington, VA.<\/p>\n

Theresa migrated from Taiwan to the U.S. when she was 10-years-old. Like many new immigrants, her family knew nothing about Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

The first few years, the Chen family attempted to immerse themselves in true Thanksgiving Americana. Theresa found the dishes\u2014and ingredients like cranberries and pumpkin\u2014odd. \u201cIt was not what we ate every day,\u201d she says. They also had their share of novice\u00a0mistakes. One year, as they sliced into a crisp-skinned, nicely-browned turkey full of anticipation, they were met with disappointment: the inside was still completely frozen! Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

As the years passed, her parents got a little more creative while still keeping to the bird theme. Chicken or duck would be chopped in half and pan-fried, or chopped into smaller pieces and braised on the stove.<\/p>\n

They cooked side dishes that were more suited to their Taiwanese taste buds: bok choy with mushrooms, steamed tofu or mapo tofu, fried vermicelli and handmade meatballs, better known as that favorite Chinese New Year delicacy, lion\u2019s head meatballs. \u201cWe mixed and matched Chinese New Year with Thanksgiving!\u201dTheresa says.<\/p>\n

Fusion dishes included mashed sweet potatoes with green onions and other veggie garnishes and gravy made from soy sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock.<\/p>\n

Once Theresa hit college, she wanted to take charge of the turkey. She found her nemesis in a 20-pound turkey. Not only was it way too much turkey for her party of 12, she had to stuff it with a whole lot of sticky rice (not a good idea since sticky rice is finicky and getting the stuffing to a safe temperature usually means overcooking the bird), but here\u2019s the kicker–she injected the turkey with soy sauce.<\/p>\n

\"Theresa's<\/a>

Theresa’s spotty turkey was the centerpiece of her family’s Thanksgiving celebration\u00a0several years ago. It was still edible!<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI would not recommend it,\u201d she says. \u201cI cut into it and the meat looked a weird brownish color that was spotty and in patches… It looked like cowhide!\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately practice makes perfect. Over the years and after several trial and errors, Theresa eventually developed turkey confidence.<\/p>\n

Theresa foresees her own Thanksgiving traditions will be eclectic with \u201ca little bit of old and a little bit of new,\u201d with a dash of the experimental. And since her boyfriend is Russian, she predicts \u201cThere will be sour cream, and probably with sweet potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Do you have a Thanksgiving mash-up tale to tell?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Soy Sauce Chicken<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\""Soy<\/a>

Disclaimer: This is not a photo of Lo’s soy sauce chicken recipe. \u00a0It is however a photo of very tasty looking soy sauce chicken taken at a restaurant, presumably in Hong Kong. Photo credit: “Soy Sauce Chicken” by Dennis Wong, Hong Kong,\u00a0via Flickr<\/a>, cc<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Adapted from\u00a0My Grandmo ther\u2019s Chinese Kitchen–100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(HP Trade, December 2005) by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo<\/p>\n

Roast turkey may be an American tradition but in the spirit of Theresa\u2019s parents, I recommend a very traditional Chinese dish, soy sauce chicken, as a worthy substitute. In her cookbook, Lo describes how this dish–a dish of honor celebrating her position as family matriarch– was always prepared for her grandmother Ah Paw\u2019s birthday. It\u2019s a fitting dish to celebrate Thanksgiving too. The leftover sauce, called a master sauce or \u201csee yau,\u201d can be used to cook the chicken again and again, with the addition of more seasonings each time, making the sauce richer and more complex with age. The sauce will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

One (3-1\/2-pound) whole chicken (or the same weight in chicken parts or Cornish game hens would work too)
\n1\/4 cup salt
\n4 cups chicken stock
\n2 cups water
\nThree 3-inch-long cinnamon sticks
\n2\/3 cup (5 ounces) organic cane sugar or brown sugar
\n4 star anise pods
\nOne 2-inch piece ginger, smashed
\n1 cup dark soy sauce (also called double black soy sauce<\/a>)
\n1 cup Shaoxing Chinese rice wine or dry sherry<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Clean the chicken inside and out. Trim off all fat. Rub salt into the skin and rinse under cold running water and drain.<\/li>\n
  2. In a large pot, combine the chicken stock, water, cinnamon sticks, sugar, star anise and ginger and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the soy sauce and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes.<\/li>\n
  3. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, breast-side up, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Flip the chicken, cover and cook for 20 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let the chicken stand, covered, for 1 hour.<\/li>\n
  4. Remove the chicken from the liquid and transfer to a cutting board. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and serve immediately.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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