By | May 5, 2016

~ Chinese Herbs Kampong Chicken ~

I am not a wet market person for as long as I know. A little impromptu venture to the Ghim Moh wet market on one Sunday morning recently brought me to a great harvest I have never thought I would. I found “Kampong Chicken” from the “halal” source! I am assured that the chicken is being slaughtered the peaceful way. Where I used to live has a reliable source for “Kampong Chicken” (although not from a “halal” source) and I used to get them at my doorstep before moving to Singapore.

As far as I read, “Kampong Chicken or Village Chicken” which are raised in a free range farm or fed organically are known to be healthier and tastier than farm-bred chicken. I read that “Kampong Chicken” is just a breed of chicken and it does not guarantee a free range raising environment. So, how would I know which stall is selling the real or fake ones?

I have only one simple rule. I will just assess by the amount of fat and muscles of the chicken. Those with a leaner body, less fat and longer legs and wings are the ones that I will give it a go. As these criterions were fulfilled at the wet market stall I visited, I was so happy to buy one!

I typically cook “Kampong Chicken” in one way and no other than making soups due to the toughness of the flesh. I thought I should try cooking a dish out of it since my soon to be 3 year old toddler is quite keen on drumsticks these days. Hence, I have thought of “steam-stewing” it with some commonly used Chinese herbs.

What do I mean by “steam-stewing”? I meant I wanted to steam it to a “just cooked” juiciness so that the tough texture of the chicken will be tender enough for consumption by a toddler but not too tender that the meat will appear to be too rubbery and dry upon chewing. I meant I wanted to slow-cook it for a long enough time so that the Chinese herbs flavour will be immersed into the flesh with nice aroma. I am trying to strike a balance between these two, if you know exactly what I mean. Hah, hah!

In the AMC cooking method, I cook my Chinese Herbs Kampong Chicken dish under “Soft” pressure for 10 minutes where temperature is lingered between 103°C to 113°C. In this recipe, I used an AMC 20cm Secuquick Softline lid fastened on a 20cm 3.0 liter pot unit.

Chinese Herbs Kampong Chicken Recipe (Serves 3) :

  1. 1/2 Kampong Chicken (approximately 350gm)
  2. Sprinkles of Salt
  3. Dashes of Black Pepper
  4. 5 Red Dates (deseeded & sliced)
  5. 5 grams of Wolfberries
  6. 5 grams of Huang Qi/Milkvetch or Astragalus Root (cut into 2-3cm long)
  7. 5 grams of Yu Zhu/Solomonseal Rhizome
  8. 5 grams of Huai Shan/Dried Chinese Yam
  9. 5 grams of Dang Gui/Chinese Angelica Root (optional)
  10. 60ml water

AMC Healthy Cooking Method :

  1. Rinse to clean and soak all Chinese herbs in 60ml of water. Marinate “Kampong Chicken” with salt and pepper for 20 minutes. Lay all Chinese herbs with the water used to soak them at the bottom of the pot unit. Place chicken on top and cover it with some of the herbs.
  2. Cover the pot with the Secuquick Softline lid.
  3. Switch on Navigenio to automatic “A”. Turn on Audiotherm, place on lid knob, indicating “Soft” and set 10 minutes to cook.
  4. When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm.
  5. When pot depressurised, dish out and serve.
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Marinated “Kampong Chicken” placed in the 20cm pot unit.

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Set on fuss free automatic mode to cook with Secuquick Softline lid for 10 minutes.

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Tada….all done with plenty of gravy, serving like soup!

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Dish out and serve warm.

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