CHICKEN
THERE’S USUALLY A CHICKEN or two around when a family wants to feast. Maybe that’s why there are so many good chicken dishes in Burma. This chapter gives just a glimpse of the variety. There’s a chile-hot Rakhine minced chicken (see this page) and a mild chicken curry from central Burma (see this page). From Shan State comes a chicken stew with potatoes (see this page) and from the Kachin tradition there’s a succulent steamed curry (see this page).
There are also two takes on fried chicken, one a street-side classic (see this page) and the other a simple home-cooked version with an interesting technique (see this page).
Many of these recipes call for chicken cut into small pieces, on the bone. The advantage of small pieces is that there is more surface area for the marinade and sauce to cling to, and the cooking time is shorter. If you have a good cleaver or chicken shears, you can chop the bird up yourself, or ask your butcher do it (see A Note on Chopped Chicken). You may also prefer to leave the pieces larger.
Village cooks insist that “village chickens”—that is, free-range long-legged chickens—have much more flavor. Those birds tend to look scrawny to us. Free-range chickens in North America are more sheltered than their Burmese village cousins, but they still have better flavor than battery-raised chickens, so do try to find free-range birds.
SERVES 6
The story behind the name of this easy curry is that it’s the kind of dish that village boys who have stolen a neighbor’s chicken would cook up for themselves. I learned it from a generous-hearted friend in Rangoon, as well as a similar version from Cho Cho in her village near Bagan.
In Burma this is usually made with calabash, a kind of gourd that is peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes. I like to use chayote, which is now available in North American groceries, but you can use winter melon or potato if you prefer. With four dried red chiles, the sauce in this curry has a kick; for less heat, remove the chile seeds.
I like to serve this with broccoli rabe or baby bok choi, lightly dressed with a vinaigrette. Another possibility when tomatoes are in season is a simple salad of chopped tomatoes. Or serve it hot over rice.
One 2½- to 3-pound chicken, preferably free-range, chopped into small pieces (see Note), liver reserved, or substitute 2½ pounds legs and breasts, chopped into pieces
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 or 4 dried red chiles, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained
¼ cup peanut oil
½ cup minced shallots
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed, smashed, and cut into 2-inch lengths
About 3 cups water
4 cups bite-sized cubes chayote or winter melon
Fish sauce or soy sauce (optional)
Rinse the chicken pieces thoroughly with cold water, then pat dry. Place in a wide bowl, add the rub ingredients, and turn and mix so the chicken is well coated. Set aside for 10 minutes, loosely covered.
Meanwhile, if you have a mortar, pound the garlic and ginger together to make a paste; set aside. Remove the stems from the soaked chiles, and discard the seeds if you wish (they give extra heat). Chop the chiles and pound to a coarse paste in the mortar, or finely mince; set aside.
Heat the oil in a wide skillet or a wok over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds, then add the chiles and lemongrass and stir. Add the chicken pieces, along with the liver if you have it, stir, and cook briefly. Remove the liver after 2 minutes or so, when it is just cooked; set aside. Continue cooking and stirring until most of the surfaces of the chicken pieces have changed color, then add about 2 cups of water (you want it half an inch deep or so), cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
If the water level seems too low, add another ½ cup or more and bring back to a boil. Add the chayote or melon cubes and cook at a medium boil until tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Taste for salt, and add fish sauce or soy sauce, if needed. If you have the liver, add it just before serving.
A NOTE ON CHOPPED CHICKEN: I prefer that the chicken be chopped into small pieces, about 10 pieces to the pound. That translates into the following: Chop each drumstick into 2 pieces, the thighs into 3; split the breasts and cut each half-breast into 4 pieces; and chop the wings into 2 pieces. If you are lucky enough to have a good butcher, ask him or her to chop a whole chicken into small pieces, otherwise, use kitchen shears or a sharp cleaver to cut it up. Rinse off the chopped chicken thoroughly to get rid of stray shards of bone, then pat dry.
A pair of young monks clowns around on the steps of their monastery in Kengtung.
SERVES 4
After a morning’s explorations in Mandalay, I stopped for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall on a side street. I ended up lingering over my meal, for the day was hot and the food a pleasure, especially this curry.
The sauce is smooth and creamy, the chicken livers, in bite-sized pieces, creamy too. It’s a great combination with rice or new potatoes and a vegetable side or a salad.
1 pound chicken livers, preferably from organic birds
¼ cup peanut oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon crushed or minced ginger
½ cup crushed or minced ripe tomato
½ cup hot water
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon Red Chile Powder
Rinse the chicken livers and trim off any fat and off-colored parts. Cut into small pieces, about ½ to ¾ inch across, and set aside.
Place a heavy wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, and when it is hot add the turmeric and stir, then add the shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and tomato and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Push the sauce out to the sides of the pan, raise the heat to high, and add the chicken livers. Cook, stirring and pressing the livers against the pan to expose all surfaces to the heat, for about 1 minute, or just until all surfaces have changed color. Pull the sauce back into the center of the pan, add the water, and bring to a boil. Add the fish sauce, salt, and chile powder and lower the heat to maintain a simmer. The livers will be just cooked through but still tender in another minute or two and the sauce will have thickened. Remove from the heat and serve.
SERVES 4
This dish can be cooked in a bowl set in a steamer or in a tightly covered pot. The chicken is chopped into small pieces, on the bone. It cooks more quickly than it would in large pieces, and more surface area is exposed to the flavor paste and the broth.
The chicken is rubbed with a flavor paste of garlic, ginger, ground coriander, turmeric, and dried red chiles. It steams in its own juices, emerging tender and succulent.
About 1½ pounds chicken parts, chopped into about 15 pieces (see A Note on Chopped Chicken)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 dried red chiles, seeded and minced
Scant 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon water, or as needed
1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil, if slow-cooking
2 tablespoons minced scallion greens or chopped coriander (optional)
Rinse the chicken pieces, remove most of the skin, and set aside. Place the chicken in a wide bowl.
Pound together the garlic, ginger, salt, chiles, coriander, and turmeric in a mortar to make a paste. Alternatively, mash the garlic and ginger with the side of a knife. Place in a small bowl, add the salt, chiles, coriander, and turmeric, and use the back of a spoon to blend them.
Stir the water into the paste, and add it to the chicken. Turn and mix the chicken and paste until the pieces are well coated. Set aside while you organize your cooking method.
If steaming the chicken: You need a shallow bowl that will fit into your steamer basket when the lid is on and that is large enough to hold all the chicken. You also need a pot that is just about the same diameter as your steamer, so that no steam escapes.
Pour about 3 inches water into the pot and set the steamer basket in the pot. Transfer the chicken and flavorings and the reserved skin to the wide shallow bowl and place in the steamer. Put on the steamer lid, then heat the water over high heat. When it comes to a strong boil, turn the heat down slightly. Steam the chicken until cooked through, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Check on it after 45 minutes: be careful as you lift off the lid not to burn yourself on the steam, then stir the chicken so that pieces that are underneath will be exposed to the hot steam. Cover again and resume steaming.
Check one of the largest pieces of chicken for doneness after an hour or so. Also check that the pot has enough water and is not running dry. When all the chicken is cooked through, remove the steamer from the pot, again taking care not to burn yourself on the steam.
If slow-cooking the chicken: Add 2 tablespoons more water and the oil to the chicken. Place in a wide heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, add the reserved skin, and stir to mix well. Place over medium-low heat, with the lid on, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour, or until all the chicken is cooked through. The chicken will be bathed in a light sauce and will be tender and succulent.
To serve: Remove the skin and discard. Serve hot or at room temperature, topped, if you like, with a sprinkling of scallion greens or coriander.
TO DOUBLE THE RECIPE: Double all the amounts and cook in two bowls set in stacked steamers; if using the sealed-pot method, use a 10- to 12-inch heavy pot, so the chicken is not stacked too deep. The cooking time will be a little longer.
The steamed version of Kachin Chicken Curry is presented here with Fried Rice with Shallots and Fresh Red Chile Chutney. Notice that the chicken is in larger pieces here than those called for. My notes from Myitkyina include a comment about this slow-cooked dish from the Kachin repertoire: “Delish, sucking flavor off the bone.”
SERVES 3 OR 4
I had this at a Shan restaurant in Hsipaw and fell in love with it. The sauce that bathes the chicken is tangy with a little lime juice and aromatic with garlic and ginger. Fresh green cayenne chiles give noticeable heat.
You can make this with boneless chicken or chicken on the bone. Serve with new potatoes or rice.
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
About 1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons peanut oil
4 or 5 green cayenne chiles, each slit lengthwise several times
1 pound boneless chicken, cut into approximately ½-inch pieces, rinsed, or about 1½ pounds chicken legs and/or breasts, cut into small pieces (see A Note on Chopped Chicken) and rinsed well
1 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ cup minced scallion greens or coriander leaves (optional)
If you have a mortar, pound the garlic and ginger together to a paste with a pinch of salt.
Heat the oil in a heavy pot or a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for several minutes until softened. Add the chiles and cook a minute longer, then raise the heat to high. Add the chicken pieces and cook, turning and stirring to expose all surfaces to the hot oil, about 4 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and stir, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (chicken on the bone will take a little longer). Remove from the heat and add the lime juice.
Sprinkle on the scallion greens or cilantro, if you wish. Serve hot or at room temperature.
SERVES 6
In Burma chicken is most often served as a curry rather than grilled. But traditional Burmese flavorings make a great marinade for grilled chicken, and the result is delectable. Allow an hour for it to marinate.
Serve with Sticky Rice) or with flatbreads. Put out Tart-Sweet Chile-Garlic Sauce or Tamarind Sauce with it. Another option is Kachin Salsa, especially since you can grill the vegetables for it while you are grilling the chicken. A salad or a stir-fried green vegetable rounds the meal out nicely.
2½ to 3 pounds chicken breasts and/or legs, chopped into small pieces (see A Note on Chopped Chicken)
MARINADE
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon Red Chile Powder or cayenne
About 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Rinse off the chicken and pat dry; set aside in a bowl.
Combine the salt, turmeric, chile powder, garlic, and ginger in a mortar or a bowl and pound with a pestle or mash with the back of a spoon to blend together. Stir in the fish sauce.
Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and rub it in well with your hands. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat a charcoal or gas grill to medium heat.
Grill the chicken, turning the pieces frequently to expose all sides to the heat and prevent scorching, until cooked to the bone, about 20 minutes.
Easy Grilled Chicken served with Tart-Sweet Chile-Garlic Sauce accompanied by Sticky Rice made with a blend of white and black rice, and by Succulent Grapefruit Salad. The chicken has been left in larger pieces here, rather than being cut small.
SERVES 4
Every evening in Mrauk U I had the luxury of eating at a small guesthouse on the edge of town, where the innkeeper’s wife, Shwe Nwe, served a multidish supper. The food was so varied and so fresh tasting that I think of those dinners as some kind of eating-Eden experience. Best of all, I was able to go to the kitchen daily and learn as I watched Shwe Nwe cook.
This dish has become a favorite in my family. Like many dishes from Rakhine State, it has a marked chile heat, a little hit of galangal, and a balanced complexity. Serve over rice or as a delectable nontraditional sauce for pasta. Accompany with a chopped cucumber salad or lightly dressed greens.
1 pound boneless chicken or ground chicken
3 tablespoons peanut oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced galangal (see Glossary)
2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon shrimp paste (ngapi; see Glossary), or substitute 1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons Red Chile Oil or store-bought, or to taste, or 2 teaspoons Shallot Oil plus ½ to 1 teaspoon Red Chile Powder or cayenne
¼ cup chopped coriander (optional)
If using boneless chicken, thinly slice it, then chop with one or two cleavers until it is reduced to a coarsely ground texture, about 5 minutes. Or coarsely chop, place in a food processor, and pulse several times to grind it. Set aside.
Place a wok or wide heavy pot over medium heat and add the oil. Add the turmeric and stir, then toss in the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the galangal and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir to blend, then cook for a minute.
Add the chicken and cook, stirring to break up lumps and blend the chicken into the sauce, until all the chicken has changed color. Add the shrimp paste and stir well. Add the salt and stir, then stir in the chile oil. Cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes or so, to give the flavors time to blend. The oil will rise to the surface.
Serve hot or at room temperature, topped with a sprinkling of chopped coriander if you wish.
SERVES 6
What always strikes me about the recipes from the Shan repertoire is how economical they are for the cook. Often there’s only one pot needed, and the techniques involved extract the maximum flavor from the ingredients in a short time.
For this dish, there’s no marinade, no waiting around, just a quick first frying of the chicken with flavorings, and then the addition of aromatics for the last fifteen minutes or so as it cooks to tender succulence. Serve with rice or over noodles, with some greens, say Tender Greens Salad with Crispy Fried Shallots or Lima Beans with Galangal.
2/3 cup chopped garlic
½ cup sliced ginger
2 dried red chiles, stemmed
About 1 tablespoon salt
¼ cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
One 3- to 3½-pound chicken, chopped into small pieces (see A Note on Chopped Chicken) and rinsed
1 cup sliced white or yellow onion
1 tablespoon turmeric
3 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, smashed, and sliced into 1-inch lengths
2 Roma (plum) or other fleshy tomatoes, cut into small wedges (about 8 per tomato)
⅓ cup very fresh tender young lime leaves
½ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
If you have a mortar, pound the garlic, ginger, and chiles together with a little salt to make a coarse paste; if not, mince them. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and turn the pieces in the hot oil for about 3 minutes. Add the onion, 2 teaspoons of the salt, the turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, chiles, and tomatoes and stir and cook for 2 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the lime leaves and another ½ teaspoon salt, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Taste and adjust the salt if you wish.
Add the coriander, stir in, and serve.