Chicken Hotpot

Ingredients:

For The Chicken

• 1 chicken carcass, washed
• 2 litres dashi stock
• 100ml sake
• 625g chicken thighs and bones, skinned
• 500g Chinese cabbage
• 2 medium-sized leeks
• 2 medium-sized carrots, peeled
• 100g shimeji mushrooms or oyster mushrooms

For the dashi stock

• 1 postcard-sized piece of konbu (kelp seaweed)
• l litre water
• 20g dried bonita flakes (roughly a handful)

For the citrus soy dipping sauce

• 100ml grapefruit juice
• 100ml yuzu juice (available in bottles from Japanese and Oriental stores – otherwise use lime juice)
• 100ml soy sauce

Method:

1. Start by making the dashi stock. Soak the konbu in the measured water in a saucepan for at least 30 minutes (ideally 1 hour) before placing it over a moderate heat. If you have not had long enough to soak the konbu, lower the heat to low/moderate to allow more time for the konbu to infuse the water.
2. Take out the konbu when it begins to float and a few small bubbles start to appear. Pour in a ladle of cold water followed by the bonito flakes. Turn up the heat slightly and cook until the liquid returns to the boil, but do not let it come to a full boil; turn off the heat. Let the bonito flakes settle to the bottom and strain the dashi through a fine sieve lined with a piece of kitchen paper.
   
3. Make the chicken stock by putting the washed chicken carcass in a large saucepan with the dashi stock and sake and bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes. Skim off the scum that floats to the surface. Discard the carcass, strain the stock and set aside until the cooking starts.
4. Blanch the chicken thighs in a saucepan of boiling water for five minutes; drain and rinse in cold water. Chop the Chinese cabbage into manageable-sized pieces. Chop the leeks diagonally. Slice the carrots diagonally. Discard the base of the shimeji mushrooms where they are joined and separate them. Arrange the vegetables on a large platter.
5. Mix the citrus soy dipping sauce and set aside.

At the table:

1. Place a portable hob at the centre of the table with a cooking pot on top. Each guest should have a dipping sauce. Fill the pot half way with the prepared stock and bring it to the boil over a high heat.
2. Put about a third of the prepared chicken thighs into it and allow the stock to return to the boil before adding a third of the vegetables. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
3. Invite the guests to help themselves. Replenish the stock, chicken and vegetables as needed.

Cooks tip
Slow simmering brings out all the goodness and flavour of chicken. Make sure you use the best quality organic chicken for this dish. I recommend citrus-flavoured soy sauce for dipping. And why not add some cooked rice and beaten eggs to the wonderful cooking juices left at the end to make comforting rice porridge?


Sumber: http://www.spaworld.tv/Spa-Nutrition/Article43.aspx