Chinese Brown Sauce

Chinese is my absolute favorite food on the planet.  It is one of the only foods that I enjoy getting takeout from because I have never been successful at duplicating the recipes - until now.  I have numerous books on Chinese cooking, Chinese American cooking, takeout Chinese cooking, etc.  None of them have ever really hit the mark when it comes to Chinese takeout.  To me it's all about the sauce.  I could never really get the sauce right.  There was always something missing.  A few weeks ago, I stumbled across some youtube videos that really hit the mark on the taste.  I made a few tweaks to the recipes and they came out great.  This is the recipe for the basic brown sauce.  This is one of the main sauces that you will need if you want that restaurant quality taste.  

The good thing is that once you master this sauce, you can start creating your own dishes with it.  Experiment with different vegetables and meats.   I will have more Chinese recipes to come.  

The Final Plating

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Sake or Mirin
• 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 minced green onion
• 2 tsp Ginger
• 1 tsp Garlic
• Dash White Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients and store in the fridge for up to a month.

Hay Baked Chicken

This recipe was made famous by Alain Passard.  Passard, is considered by many as one of the best chefs in the world.  I've seen different versions of this recipe with different meats, but this one is very simple and works great.  This is one of the strangest recipes you will ever try, but I am confident it will also be one of the best.  This recipe became an instant favorite in my family.

One of the most asked questions I get about this recipe is - why would I want the chicken to taste like hay?  Well, if you think about it, it's actually not so strange.  Think about when you use a smoker for meats.  Why on earth would you want to taste hickory or mesquite?  It's the same concept here.  You are just imparting the flavor of hay.

There are a couple of hurdles to this recipe.  The first one is that you must use hay, not straw.  I know, I didn't think there was a difference either, but apparently there is.  Animals can eat hay, but they cannot eat straw.  Straw is mainly used for growing grass, etc.  Hay is used for feeding animals, so hay must be used for this recipe.  I saw some pics on the internet for this recipe and some are clearly using straw.  Not the same.  Another hurdle to this recipe was the dough that is used to seal the lid.  Why was this such an issue?  Well, I made my own dough and didn't really pay attention to the ratio of water and flour.  When I took the pot out of the oven and tried to remove the dough, it was like concrete.  I had to literally saw the dough off of the pot.  Luckily the pot didn't get damaged.  I was able to wet the dough down and chip it away little by little.  Yes, I'm a moron.  So, I would recommend using the Pillsbury biscuit dough instead of making your own.  It's also going to be a huge time saver.

Chicken on the Hay nest

Making the Dough

Ready to Seal

Seal the Dough to the Lid

Baking

The Chicken is Rested and Almost Done

The Final Plating

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Whole Chicken
• Seasoned Salt
• Hay (not straw)
• Dough

DIRECTIONS

• 1
  Line the bottom of the cast iron pot with the hay. Turn the hay into a nest at the bottom of the pan so that the chicken can rest on it.
• 2
  Season the chicken with seasoned salt and place on the hay.
• 3
  Take dough and seal the lid onto the pan.
• 4
  Bake at 375 for 1 hour. Let rest in the pan for 45 minutes.
• 5
  Remove the dough from the pot.
• 6
  Put under broiler for a few minutes to brown the chicken.