Simply Nigella

by Nigella Lawson

2. Roast Chicken with Lemon, Rosemary, Garlic and Potatoes

1. Quick-Pickled Carrots

Clay-Pot Chicken In Oyster Sauce

A simple easy chicken dish, cooked in a claypot. This dish can be cooked in a casserole pot if claypot is not available.

According to the recipe, the chicken pieces is marinated and then roast in the oven for 15 minutes until the skin is golden. I have however, brown the chicken pieces over the stove. I cooked about 1 kg of chicken, enough for 6 persons as part of a meal with rice and other dishes.

After the chicken pieces are browned, they are braised together with the mushrooms, chicken stock and braising sauce over low heat till the chicken is tender. 

This dish may be served directly from the claypot, or scooped into a serving bowl.

Clay-Pot Chicken in Oyster Sauce
(from, A Spoonful of Ginger, Nina Simonds)
Marinade
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine or sake
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 whole scallions, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths
2-inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled, then cut into 6 slices
3-1/2 to 4 pounds chicken legs, thighs, wings, or assorted chicken parts, rinsed and drained
10 dried Chinese black mushrooms, steeped in hot water for 20 minutes until soft, stems removed, caps cut into thirds (optional)

Braising sauce (mixed together) ;
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine or sake
1-1/2 teaspoon sugars (rock sugar, if available)
about 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water (optional)

1. Mix the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, add the chicken pieces, and turn to coat them with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes or longer in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 475F.
2. Arrange the chicken pieces, with the marinade, and the drained black mushrooms on cookie sheet lined with aluminium foil. Roast for 15 minutes, turning once, until the skin is golden. Remove.
3. Transfer the browned chicken and mushrooms to a clay pot, Dutch oven, or a casserole with a lid. Add the Braising Sauce and heat until the liquid is boiling. Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover, and cook for 45 minutes, until the meat is very tender. Skim any fat from the surface. The sauce should be slightly thick. If it hasn't thickened sufficiently, heat until boiling, add a little cornstarch dissolved in water, and cook, stirring, until the sauce has a smooth coating consistency. Scoop the chicken and sauce onto a serving platter or serve from the pot. Accompany the dish with a vegetable and rice.

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Vanilla and Orange Cake

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey which we are currently baking from are ;

Lemon Drizzle 

Apple Streusel

Vanilla and Blood Orange Cake

Devil's Food Cake

Members can choose any of those cakes to bake, and my choice is Vanilla and Blood Orange Cake. I have however replaced blood orange with regular orange.

The full recipe is baked in a 8" pan. I've made half a recipe and bake the cake in a 5" round cake pan. For such a tiny cake, the amount of butter is half a cup (which I thought is quite a lot!), so I've used 100gm, wanted to use only 80gm but decided to reduce only 25gm from the half cup instead, and have reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup, taking into account that there is caramel at the top of the finished cake.

The caramel is first made by melting sugar in a saucepan (for the caramel, I've used 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup) and stir until the sugar has completely melted to a caramel. Immediately pour the caramel into the cake pan and place a sliced orange in the centre. 

The batter is made by creaming sugar (I've used 1/4 cup), eggs and seeds from a vanilla pod, until light and fluffy, and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Fold in melted butter, orange zest, orange juice, mix to combine, and lastly the flour, in two batches. Pour batter into the prepared pan over the caramel and bake in a preheated oven.

According to the recipe, this cake is baked in a low temperature at 325F for 30 minutes. I have however baked at 350F and it took 35 minutes until the cake is done baking. 

Invert the cake onto a plate so that the caramel with the orange is now the top. Let cool and serve.

Cake is very moist, and soft. I am so glad that I have reduced the sugar, as this is quite sweet with the caramel. I thought that this cake could do with a little less butter. I like the orange slice and the bits of vanilla seeds throughout. My overall review for this cake, not great, but nice.

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