Tea Leaf Smoked Chicken

茶叶熏鸡

Tea leaf smoked chicken is a straight forward dish which you can cook at home using simple equipment and ingredients. It involves a 2 stage process: first cooking the chicken, then wok-smoking it over a mixture of tea leaves, rice, sugar. For stage 1, there are 2 methods: steaming (which is faster) and poaching (slower but yields a juicier chicken).

Based on this website, the tea smoke mix comprises dried tea leaves (for flavour and aromatics), raw/uncooked rice (to moderate the burn off of the tea leaves) and sugar (to help the smoke penetrate and adhere to the food). 

Ingredients:

2g dried tea leaves (I use oolong tea leaves)

30g raw/uncooked rice (alternative: 2g dried osmanthus flowers, guihua,  桂花 )

15g brown sugar 

sugarcane leaves, cut into short pieces (optional)

1 kampong chicken (approximately 1.2kg)

2 teaspoon salt

Poaching stock ingredients: 50ml light soy sauce, 1/4 tsp light soy sauce, 60ml shaoxing rice wine, 3 stalks of scallions (cut into lengths), 2 star anise, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp szechuan peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 4-5 slices of ginger.

Method:

1. Wash and clean the chicken. Dab dry with kitchen towel and marinate it (inside out) with a salt for at least 3 hours. Optional step: Butterfly the chicken by cutting it into two from the backbone. 

2. Steaming Method:

Place the chicken on a steaming rack, and put the rack in a dish/tray to collect the chicken juices (to make stock). Steam for 30 minutes on high heat. Remember to monitor the water and top up if required. 

3. Poaching Method:

Combine the poaching stock ingredients in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Hold the chicken by its neck (or use a pair of fork/tongs) and dip it into the boiling stock, cavity first so it fills up with the liquid. Lift the chicken up to drain and submerge it again. Do this 3 times.

After dipping, submerge the whole chicken (breast side down) into the stock. Cover the lid, bring the stock to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer the chicken for 30minutes. After 30minutes, flip the chicken over and let it simmer for another 10minutes.

Remove the chicken from the stock, let the liquid drain out from the cavity. Place the chicken on a wire rack set over a tray. Air-dry the chicken for at least 45minutes to an hour until the skin is slightly tracky to the touch. If the chicken is wet when it goes into the smoker, the smoke will turn acidic and taste bitter. 

4. Prepare the tea smoke mix by combining dried tea leaves, raw/uncooked rice, sugarcane leaves and sugar. Cut out aluminum foil of 40cm length, and lay it on the bottom of the wok. Spread the tea smoke mix evenly on the aluminum foil.

5. Place the chicken including the steaming rack on the aluminum foil. Cover the wok with lid and turn the stove/burner on high heat. When smoke appears, reduce heat to medium and set timer to smoke chicken for 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the chicken rest inside the work (still covered) for another 5 minutes (to let the smoke settle and glaze the chicken skin). 

5.  Brush the chicken skin with a very thin layer of sesame oil for a glossy finish. Let it cool for 15 minutes before cutting it up to serve.