Chicken with Lily Buds and Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

By norsegal8

This is a brothy, soothing, cold-weather dish that is flavored mostly with ginger, rounded out with garlic and earthy dried shiitake mushrooms. It has the same appeal and wholesome flavor as chicken soup in the West, a classic comfort food. Accompany it with steamed rice to soak up the delicious sauce.
The chickens that you find at an Asian butcher shop are markedly different from your average supermarket bird. Most of them are spindly, bony critters, much smaller than their supermarket cousins, and because of that they're ideal for braising. If you don't have excess to one of the Asian breeds, you'll get the best results with this recipe if you use free-range chicken, the kind that runs around and develops muscle, which makes the most flavorful meat.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds skin-on, bone-in whole chicken legs (separated into drumsticks and thighs), trimmed of excess fat
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup dried lily buds*
• 12 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 by 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• fish sauce, for seasoning
• cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

1. Put the chicken pieces in a shallow bowl, sprinkle with the rice wine, cornstarch and salt and turn the pieces well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before browning.

2. Put the shiitake mushrooms and lily buds in separate bowl, add hot water to cover both bowls and let soak for about 15 minutes, until softened. Drain the lily buds, trim away the tough end from each bud, and set aside. Drain the mushrooms, remove and discard the stems, cut each cap in half and set aside.

3. In a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, working in batches, add the chicken pieces and cook, turning once, for about 8 minutes, until browned on both sides. As a batch is ready, transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet.

4. When all of the chicken has been browned, add one cup of stock to the now-empty pot and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the browned bits. Transfer to a clay pot and add the browned chicken along with the remaining chicken stock, ginger, garlic, lily buds and mushrooms. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat so the liquid is at a gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is opaque throughout and the sauce has reduced by about a third. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning by adding fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.

5. Garnish with cilantro and serve directly from the clay pot.


*Lily buds can be found dried, packaged in cellophane, in most Asian grocery stores. They are the buds of tiger lilies - the flowers found in many backyards - and are used primarily to add texture to soups, braises and stir-fried dishes. They have a powerful smell when dried, which largely dissipates when they are cooked. When buying, look for lily buds that are golden yellow in color; avoid brown buds, which is a sign of age. Before using, soak the dried lily buds in warm water until soft. With a pair of scissors, trim off the fibrous bit at the end of each bud.