Steam-Braised Chicken and Black Mushrooms: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves4

Active time:30 min
Start to finish:2 1/4 hr

March 2009

Wrapping chicken, mushrooms, and leeks in parchment paper and steaming them gently for a couple of hours—a technique that food editor Ian Knauer learned in Mexico—results in intensely flavored meat that literally falls off the bone at the nudge of a fork. The method also creates a wonderful broth that gains umami from soy sauce, as well as from the dried black mushrooms (left over from Short Rib and Vegetable Stew) and their soaking liquid. A curl of orange zest tucked inside the package gives the dish a fragrant brightness. Despite the ingredients, this dish doesn’t taste Asian—its comforting flavors are essentially universal. Serve it over rice or noodles.

4 dried black mushrooms
2 cups water
2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 whole chicken legs
4 (2- by 1/2-inch) strips orange zest

Equipment:

kitchen string
Accompaniment:

orange wedges

Bring mushrooms and water to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and let soak, covered, 20 minutes. Squeeze water from mushrooms through a paper-towel-lined sieve back into saucepan, reserving liquid. Discard stems, then slice mushroom caps.
Chop leeks, then wash see (see Tips). Heat butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté leeks with 1/2 tsp salt until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and soaking liquid and boil until most of liquid has evaporated. Stir in soy sauce and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Season chicken with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Place 1 chicken leg in center of a double layer of parchment paper (about 20 by 15 inches), then cover with 1/4 cup mushroom mixture and top with zest strip. Gather parchment up around chicken and tie tightly with kitchen string. Make 3 more packages in same manner.
Steam packages in a steamer rack (such as a pasta-pot insert) set 3 to 4 inches above boiling water, covered tightly, until chicken is very tender and starting to fall off the bone, 1 3/4 to 2 hours (replenish water as necessary).
Carefully transfer each package to a shallow bowl. Remove string and slowly slide parchment out from underneath chicken and broth. Season with salt.