I discovered the art of steaming food back in my young manhood when my social circle and love of a good meal expanded. A prime influence was my dear friend, Edward Hor. Yes, that was his name, Hor, pronounced “Whore.” It’s interesting to note that the younger generation in his family all changed their names to Ho. But Eddie, rebel that he was, never changed his name. It was a sense of pride. He was born with the name, and that’s the way it was. Besides being a raconteur, lover of women, and all-round good guy, he was also a great cook, one of his many talents. My fascination and love of Asian cuisine came from Eddie. He was eclectic and innovative. Whether it was Japanese or Thai, or Korean cooking, he was a dedicated exponent of good cuisine. It was from him that I learned about steeming foods. And it has been a longtime passion ever since.

Thus, I’m always on the lookout for a good, steamed dish, especially chicken. Full disclosure, I’ve posted steamed chicken recipes in the past, If interested, you can check my steamed chicken posts of 06/04/10 and 10/03/18. These are classical Asian steamed recipes with varied ingredients inclusive of such standbys as soy sauce and sesame oil. Today’s recipe is much simpler with just a few ingredients (salt, scallions, ginger, sherry wine). It’s easy to prepare in a wok or steamer. If you don’t have either, you can improvise:  place chicken, cut up, on a plate, put plate atop a small 8-ounce can inside a large pot or Dutch oven; pour two cups water inside pot, bring to a boil, cover and steam the chicken. As they say, easy as pie.  The accompaniment to this dish is, you guessed it, rice.  But you can substitute couscous, quinoa or your favorite pasta, be string like spaghetti or linguine, or shells like penne or macaroni.  You’re in charge, my friends.

Not that the recipe calls for a for dry sherry. If desired, you can substitute any dry whiter wine like Chablis or Sauvignon Blanc or even a semi-sweet wine such as Riesling.

STEAMED CHICKEN WITH WINE

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 1½-2-pounds)
Salt to taste
2 scallions, white part only
4 slices ginger (do not peel)
½ cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons hot olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Rinse chicken under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
  2. Rub chicken inside and out with salt. Cut into bite-sized pieces—except for the drumsticks which you can leave whole, if desired.
  3. Arrange on a plate, preferably breasts side up.
  4. Spread scallions and ginger on top. Then pour sherry over chicken.
  5. Place in streamer and steam over boiling water for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is tender.
  6. Heat olive oil in microwave or on stovetop in a small pan, and drizzle over chicken. This will sizzle the chicken, and that’s what you want for greater flavor.
    Yield: 4-6 servings.