Hong Kong chicken pot

Ingredientsserves 6

Equipment

• A large wok, for frying the aromatics and browning the chicken in the kitchen
• A hotpot with a lid, no wider than the cassette stove's pot stand and never reaching over the canister compartment

How the time splits

1. 30 minMarinate the chicken pieces for half an hourhands off
2. 15 minFry the shallots and garlic, then brown the chicken in the wokhands on
3. 15 minAt the table, braise with the lid on until the chicken is cooked throughhands on
4. 5 minOnce most of the chicken is eaten, pour in the stock and bring it to the boilhands on

Method

1. Pat the chicken dry and mix it with the light soy, oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of the wine and the cornflour. Leave it for half an hour. In a bowl, mix the chu hou paste, ground bean paste, mashed fermented beancurd, chilli bean sauce and sugar into the sauce.
2. Heat the oil in a large wok and fry the shallots, garlic and ginger over a low flame for about five minutes, until the edges of the shallots are just catching and the garlic is golden.
3. Turn the heat up and lay the chicken in skin side down. Leave it until it is golden before you turn it, then brown the other side. Moving it too early is what keeps the skin pale.
4. Add the sauce and toss until every piece is coated, then splash in the remaining 2 tablespoons of wine. Spread the onion and celery over the bottom of the hotpot and tip the chicken and all its sauce on top.
5. Take the pot to the table, cover it and braise over a medium flame for ten to fifteen minutes, lifting the lid to turn everything once or twice so the sauce does not catch. The chicken must be cooked through, with no pink at the bone when you cut a piece.
6. Eat the chicken first, with no soup in the pot. When only a few pieces and some of the sauce are left, pour in the stock and enough boiling water to fill the pot about 60 per cent, and scrape up the sauce on the bottom while the pot is still hot.
7. Wait for a full boil before raw food goes in; from there it is hotpot. The broth is already salty from the sauce, so top it up with boiling water, not more salt.

The short route

• A jar of chicken pot sauce from a supermarket or Chinese grocer in place of your own mix; marinate the chicken and fry the aromatics as above.
• Chicken thighs chopped on the bone cook faster, eight to ten minutes in the braise, but still cut one open to check there is no pink at the bone.

What goes in this pot

• The chicken: eaten first, before any soup goes in
• Fried tofu puffs and dried beancurd sticks: they soak up the sauce
• Fish skin dumplings and fish balls: a minute more once they float
• Shiitake and enoki: in early; enoki needs at least two minutes
• Lettuce and Taiwanese lettuce: last, eaten as soon as they wilt
• Instant noodles: to finish, soaking up the last of the sauce

What to put in, and for how long ›

The sauce plate

Chilli soyGarlic soy

Safe at the table

• Indoors, an induction plate or an electric hotpot is the safe choice. Australia’s gas safety regulators say butane cartridge stoves are for outdoor use only, because of the risk of carbon monoxide. If you do use one indoors, as Hong Kong homes do, keep it well ventilated, and never in a small or closed-up room.
• With a portable gas stove, never use a pot wider than the pot stand, about 20 cm at most unless the maker’s instructions allow more, and never one that reaches over the canister compartment. Never put two stoves side by side, and never leave one burning.
• Fit and remove the canister away from any flame or heat, with its notch facing up. Check for leaks with soapy water first, and do not use a stove that leaks or is damaged. Never put the stove on another cooker (an induction plate especially) or on anything hot, and put nothing between stove and pot that the maker did not supply: no foil, no extra stand.
• Buy a stove certified for Australia, set it on a level surface that will not burn, never on glass, and do not run it longer than the maker’s instructions allow. Keep sprays, lighters and paper well away. When you finish, turn it off, take the canister out and store it somewhere cool, dry and ventilated, never in a car or in the sun.
• Keep raw and cooked apart: use a separate pair of chopsticks or a slotted spoon for raw meat and seafood, and never eat from them.
• After topping the pot up, wait for it to come back to a full boil before anything goes in.
• Chicken, pork, liver and seafood must be cooked through before eating. Sliced pig’s liver needs at least three to five minutes at a full boil; Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety advises at least five minutes for seafood; clams boil until they open and then three to five minutes more, and any that stay shut are thrown away. Enoki boils at least two minutes and is never eaten raw.
• For pregnant women, children under five, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system: beef until no pink remains, and seafood for the full five minutes.
• Raw meat plates stay out no longer than two hours. Leftovers go into the fridge within two hours, keep no more than three days, and are reheated only once, until boiling hot.

Take care

• The chu hou paste, ground bean paste, fermented beancurd and chilli bean sauce contain soy, and most contain wheat (gluten); oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster); the soy in the saucers contains soy and wheat.
• Keep raw chicken away from other food, and wash your hands, the board and the knife after handling it. Cook the chicken right through, with no pink at the bone. The sauce is thick, so lift the lid and stir while it braises or it will burn onto the pot. Once the stock is in, wait for a full boil after every top-up before raw food goes in.

The story

The chicken pot came by way of the mainland's 'Chongqing chicken pot', a 1990s Shanghai invention, and Hong Kong made it its own: chicken braised in the pot and eaten first, then stock poured in for hotpot. It took off in Hong Kong hotpot shops in the last ten-odd years, and when winter comes, neighbours arrange to go out for one together.

Same kind

Clear chicken brothHong Kong satay brothPeppery pork-bone broth

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.