CANTONESE CHICKEN, MUSHROOM & WHITE WINE STEW: wallet-friendly, low-fat & carb, quick & easy

This adventurous boozy Cantonese-inspired chicken stew was popular amongst the hunting'n fishing set the Blogger fed many years ago... 

An unusal rich mixture of white wine, dried Chinese mushrooms, lemon, grass, star anise, fresh ginger and garlic.

The Stew was just exotic enough to tempt conservative eaters but not so intense as to be off-putting.

It's biggest selling points, though, are that it is low-fat/cholesterol and low-carb.  It was also frugal (using boiling fowl) and energy-efficient, slow cooked for hours in an oven or over a fire or on an Aga.  Though no one cared very much about that then! 

Since the advent of higher-welfare Chooks (thank you, M&S!), the price of decent chicken is now low enough to re-consider this recipe.

The ingredients are more or less the same but the cooking time is  sharply reduced.  Today's chickens are so tender that, apart from a little prep the night before, the stew can be on the table in 20 mins.

The recipe is unusually versatile: a whole bird serves a family or a crowd depending on how small the individual pieces of chicken are; half a bird is perfect for a couple or singleton.

Cost: depends on chicken: whole or pieces (in the absence of small chickens 67 bought a medium, 1.5 kilos, for £7) plus cupboard staples: wine, stock & Asian spices

Serves: 7 adults; more if the bird is chopped into smaller segments (as seen on Chinese platters: bottom page How to Carve a Roast/Poached Chicken).  Couples and singletons, use half the ingredients

Ingreds:

 

whole chicken 1.5 k/3lbs Or equiv legs & breasts 

1.5 pints good stock, home-made or cubes/granules* (see Tips below) 

3-4 dried Shitake mushrooms

1 large onion or 1.5 leeks, whites only, thinly sliced

2 large cloves garlic, peeled, whole (or generous 1/8 tsp garlic granules)

2 inch/4cm piece root ginger or 1/2 tsp dried ginger

min 1/8 tsp, max 1/2 tsp hot sauce (eg Chiu Chow Chilli Oil - very fiery) OR large pinch chilli flakes to taste

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 stick lemongrass (opt)

2 star anise (opt)

1-2 glasses white wine OR white grape juice

Garnishes: 

chives, parsley or coriander, fresh if poss

drizzle of oyster sauce OR hoisin sauce

drizzle of toasted sesame oil

Method: