我的秘製烤雞 My Very Own Roasted Chicken Recipe

Had been trying different roast chicken recipes, and finally completed a recipe of my own. This is definitely a party pleaser and have never failed my guests. It was such a pity I stuffed this recipe in a pile of hand-drafts for a few years and I just can't find it.

There are always food safety issues with chickens, I only buy chickens free from additional hormone and antibiotics. If there is only the two of us, I usually go for imported frozen free range organic birds, while if we have guests, I will go for local fresh birds. Be sure there is no internal organs left in the body cavity, because you will need extra time for cooking the meat above while the other parts will be over-cooked.

Always bake your chicken with some vegetables to absorb the beautiful flavors dripping off from the chicken and to keep the chicken moist while baking. Choices of vegetables include: aubergines, carrots, fennel bulbs, garlic, mushrooms, new potatoes, onion, pumpkin, sweet potatoes. I will not recommend to bake green vegetables such as broccoli or asparagus with the chicken as they will be over-cooked.

Ingredients (Serves 2-3)

• Chicken, half. I chose a chilled local chicken which is free of additional hormone and antibiotics.
• Hokkaido pumpkin, a quarter, cut into large chunks with skin on
• Japanese onion, 1 medium, cut into wedges
• Fresh rosemary, 1 sprig
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Dry white wine or sake, 1/4 cup or more

材料 (2-3人分量）

• 雞半隻*
• 北海道南瓜，1/4 個，切塊
• 日本洋蔥，中，1個，切角
• 新鮮迷迭香，1支
• 橄欖油
• 海鹽和黑胡椒
• 白酒或清酒，1/4杯或更多 

*處理全雞的部驟連結：「如何預備一隻烤雞」

Marinate

• Sea salt, 1 teaspoon
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Fresh rosemary, 2 sprigs, finely chopped
• Fresh thyme, small bunch
• Black pepper, freshly ground, 1 teaspoon
• Extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons
• Paprika, 1 teaspoon
• Crushed chili, 1/2 tablespoon
• Pancetta, several very thin pieces, chopped*
• Garlic, 2 cloves, minced

From top left: Extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, lemon, crushed chili, paprika, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, chorizo, thyme and rosemary.

醃料

• 海鹽，1茶匙
• 檸檬皮茸，半個
• 新鮮迷迭香，兩支，切碎
• 新鮮百里香，一小撮
• 鮮磨黑胡椒，1茶匙
• 橄欖油，適量
• 紅椒粉，1 茶匙
• 指天椒碎，1/2 茶匙
• 薄切意大利煙肉*，數片，切碎
• 大蒜，兩粒，切碎

* As I didn't have pancetta, I replaced it with chorizo instead.
* 家中剛沒有意大利煙肉，用西班牙風乾腸代替，但要減海鹽和指天椒碎。

Method

1. Remove any internal organs and flab near the end of the chicken. Chop the feet and neck off, reserve for other purposes.
2. Combine all ingredients in the marinate to form a paste.
3. Release the skin from the flesh with your fingers, do not tear the skin. Rub the paste into the cavity, on the skin and stuff inside the pockets underneath the skin. Cover the chicken with wrap. Allow to sit aside for 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Put the vegetables in a baking pan. Lightly toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper. Sprinkle rosemary leaves on top. Pour some white wine or sake into the pan until just cover the bottom. Transfer the chicken onto the vegetables with skin side up.
5. Set the rack on the lower rack. Preheat the oven to 200℃. (Select Super-heated Steam mode if using Toshiba Super-heated Steam Oven)
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or when the chicken cooked through.
7. Serve while hot with green salad or blanched green vegetables.

選擇烤盤切記要大小適中。

做法

1. 清除雞腔內所有內臟和肥膏。剪去雞腳和頸作其他用途。
2. 把醃料所有材料拌勻至膏狀。
3. 用手指輕輕把雞皮與肉分離，小心不要把皮撕破。把醃料抹勻在雞腔、雞皮和塞入皮肉之間的空隙。用保鮮袋把雞包好，室溫醃 30分鐘或放入冰箱醃過夜。
4. 把切好的蔬菜放在烤盤上，輕拋裹上橄欖油、海鹽和黑胡椒，撒上迷迭香葉。把白酒或清酒入至剛覆蓋烤盤底。把雞放上，雞皮朝上。
5. 把焗爐跟機烤盤放入下層，把焗爐預熱至攝氏200度。如果用東芝水波爐，選過熱水蒸氣烤焗。
6. 放入焗爐烤 30-40 分鐘或至全熟。
7. 趁熱配上蔬菜沙律或灼蔬菜。

Grilled aubergines on the side

如何預備一隻烤雞？

每逢冬季，家中特別多聚會，當越來越多人少吃紅肉，烤雞絕對是「快靚正」之選。平日自家晚飯，選用雞中翼、雞鎚或雞脾相當方便，但在家款客或一家人慶祝節日，總是一道烤全雞較為得體。

自小喜歡倚在廚房門，一邊與媽媽談心，一邊看着她入廚。兒時讀物除了中、英文圖書，還有老爸的飲食雜誌，所以我處理和預備食物的功夫都較 old-school。有時在互聯網看到入廚新手做的燒雞，只去掉雞頭，仍然連着雞頸，又或沒有處理好雞腳，往往出現 “死雞撐飯蓋” 的場景。當事人自己未必注意到，亦未必介意，但既然有心煮，為何不把食材處理妥當，烹調一道既美味，而賣相又吸引的菜式呢？

處理步驟：

1. 一般買到的冰鮮雞或鮮雞，都是這個樣子。

2. 清洗前要

• 檢查雞皮上是否還有黃色薄膜，要輕輕去掉。
• 用拔毛鉗除去羽毛和毛囊。
• 伸手入雞腔內除去黏在脊骨的內臟。
• 摘掉雞尾內腔和近雞胸位置的皮下脂肪。習慣吃瘦雞，脂肪較少，如果買黃油雞，摘取的脂肪可有半碗。

3. 洗淨後用廚紙印乾內外水份。

4. 用雞剪剪去頭頸、雞尾、雞腳和屈好雞翅。醃好便可以入爐烤。

5. 但如果你想縮短烤焗時間，又想整隻雞的色澤均勻，雞皮都香脆，我會建議用雞剪把雞胸剪開，用力壓平，醃好放入烤爐即可。

6. 又如果人不太多，打算一隻全雞分兩餐，我會用雞剪從雞頸沿着脊骨兩邊剪開。一來避開脊骨較省力，二來少了脊骨可減少烹調時間。

7. 其實適當處理全雞還可以減少廚餘，剪下的部份汆水後可作煮湯用：

• 雞頭 - 據聞可袪頭風，雞冠富含骨膠原，不應浪費。
• 雞頸 - 必須去皮，因為就算雞很瘦，頸部的皮下脂肪都很多。我習慣買無添加激素和抗生素的雞，可以放心食用雞頸，如果買有添加激素和抗生素的，則建議不要食用雞頸了。
• 雞脊骨
• 雞腳

希望以上的資料可以幫到大家。

享盡陽光下的星期天：豐富的 Sunday brunch 和輕盈下午茶

天氣近日才轉涼一點點，早上起床看見窗外陽光和煦，都禁不住到戶外好好享受一客 Sunday brunch。以昨晚做的「三色胚芽糙米飯麵包」作主食，配上剛熟的牛油果、蘇格蘭煙三文魚、松露醬配鮮奶炒蛋和蔬菜沙律，加一杯 Nespresso。在陽光下享受如此一客 brunch，太美好了！

* 如對以下的麵包有興趣，請參考這連結："轉轉口味：「胚芽三色糙米飯全麥麵包」"

名乎其實：陽光下的「早晨全餐」！

Sunday brunch 全貌！超級滿足！

還是決定把今天日間家中活動都搬到室外：寫文章、看書、聽音樂、下午茶等。昨天做了「全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅」，加一杯無糖咖啡，就是美味的「輕盈下午茶」！食譜連結：「全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅」

轉轉口味：「胚芽三色糙米飯全麥麵包」

已經好幾個星期沒有做麵包，怕生疏了又要重新熟習，所以昨晚仍堅持開料做包。

近日又轉了口味，改吃胚芽三色糙米，再加上薏米和小米一同煮成米飯，就用這米飯與全麥粉和高筋粉配合做成「糙米飯全麥麵包」。麵糰在爐內發酵時，己傳來陣陣糙米飯的香甜味，非常誘人。剛焗好的麵包皮脆內香軟，由於穀粒粗大，隔一夜待水份重新分配，翌日才吃更美味。

我倆常以麵包作主糧，除了要美味，都以營養、三低一高（低脂、低鈉、低糖、高纖）為大前提。這「糙米飯全麥麵包」食譜都能照顧到。我現在還習慣在冷藏庫存幾份約 80 克的老麵種，每次做包都放一份，令成品更香更軟。

食譜參考：「十八穀糙米飯粗麥麵包」

《全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅》 Wholewheat Pumpkin-Walnut Muffins

喜歡日本南瓜的軟糯香甜，可作中西菜式，又可作麵包、蛋糕和甜品，可塑性極高。近日可能大造，價格亦便宜，因為耐存，所以都買一、兩個在家。

這《全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅》食譜用了多年，已經過多次改良：

• 南瓜連皮壓茸，增加纖維和營養，同時減少廚餘
• 加大全麥粉比例，但又要保持鬆軟口感
• 減牛油減膩和罪疚感
• 增加香料提味，減用少用糖

秋冬季家中聚會常做這蛋糕款客，大人小孩都喜歡，簡單易做，輕盈少甜，乎合我的原則：「美味又不墮落」。

以一個剛出爐的「全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅」，配一杯熱騰騰的無糖咖啡作為秋天的下午茶，好幸福喔！

Ingredients  (Makes 14 to 15 muffins, 80g each)

1. Dry ingredients:

• Wholewheat pastry flour 125g
• Unbleached all-purpose flour 143g
• Baking powder 1 tbsp
• Baking soda ½ tsp
• Salt ½ tsp
• Cinnamon, ground ¾ tsp
• Ginger, ground ½ tsp
• Nutmeg, freshly ground ½ tsp

From top left: Wholewheat pastry flour, Cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, ground cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, ground ginger

2. Oil-mixture

• Butter, unsalted, cubed, softened ¹ 113g
• Light brown sugar or golden caster sugar, 110-130g ² 

From left: Softened butter, golden caster sugar

3. Moist ingredients

• Eggs, beat until frothy 2 nos.
• Japanese pumpkin, cooked, mashed³ 1 cup, approximately 280g raw
• Milk ¾ cup

From left: Mashed Japanese pumpkin with skin-on, whole milk, eggs

4. Nuts

• Pecan or walnuts, toasted, roughly chopped ¾ cup
• Raisins, a handful (Optional)

From left: Toasted chopped walnuts, raisins

5. Topping – Cinnamon Sugar (Optional)

• Light brown sugar or golden caster sugar, 2 tbsp
• Cinnamon, ground, 1/4 tsp

From left: Golden caster sugar, ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (A) in a medium bowl and mix with a hand whisk.
3. Cream (B) in the mixing bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment at medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the eggs into mixture (B). Blend in the mashed pumpkin at low speed.
5. Add flour mixture  (A) into the pumpkin mixture in 2 batches alternately with the milk, mix until just blend or the cupcakes will be tough.
6. Remove the mixing bowl from the machine; fold in the chopped nuts and raisins with a silicone spatula until just blended.
7. Spoon batter into paper muffin cups. Fill about 2/3 full. ⁴
8. Sprinkle each muffin with 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar just before baking.
9. Bake for 16-18 minutes or when the cake tester comes out clean.

色澤金黃，入口鬆軟，南瓜皮清晰可見，香脆焗核桃增加不同質怠和香氣，配上幾種香料，縱使減糖依然美味。鬆餅中有氣泡是因為 1. 鬆餅剛焗好便切開，破壞了結構；2. 用 ice-cream scoop 把鬆餅漿加入紙模中。可用唧花袋把鬆餅漿注入紙模，就不會有此情況。

REMARKS:

¹Used “Isigny S^te Mère” French unsalted butter, can be used right from the fridge without standing in room temperature.

²Must taste the pumpkin puree before creaming the butter and sugar. Can reduce the amount of sugar if the squash is very sweet.

³That would be less than ½ of a Japanese pumpkin. Remove the seeds, wash the skin, cut into thin slices, cover with microwave wrap and cook in the microwave oven on high for 4-5 minutes. Remove the wrap when the squash is cool enough to touch, this is to retain the moisture of the squash. Use a fork to mash it. Use Japanese pumpkin only, sweeter with less moisture.

⁴About 80 g of batter for each muffin cup. Can try to pipe the batter into the muffin cup to make cupcakes with even surface. 

太多香草「吃」不消：雜錦香草「無水蒸」海左口

我倆都喜歡吃「無水蒸海鮮」，這做法能把海鮮的鮮甜味高度保存，但近年薑、蔥都貴，亦非每次都夠新鮮，所以不能常用這方法煮海鮮。

我每次買魚做晚餐，都把洗過魚的水留作澆盆栽，花開得燦爛，香草長得又快又壯。要保持香草長得健康必須常修剪，一般都會用來煮食，但實在太多令我「吃」不消 @@ 每天用心栽種，丟掉實在浪費！某天靈光一閃，既然每星期都會大量修剪香草，大可把香草代替薑、蔥，用作烹調「無水蒸海鮮」。

今天海鮮檔老闆推介「海左口」，分量相當大，有13-14兩。回家清理好海鮮，把洗魚水用清水稀釋澆花後，剪了大把大把的香草：rosemary, sweet basil, Thai basil, culantro (泰國芫茜), oregano 等等，洗淨後放在鍋內。接着放上魚，蓋上鍋蓋，先以中火煮4分鐘，再以細火煮4分鐘，最後收火焗4分鐘，打開鍋蓋，澆上油和豉油。

最有效耗掉香草的方法 ^_^

由於今天的魚大，肉太厚，我在正面割了幾刀，令魚更易熟透。

下次應該撒點海鹽才上火，免去豉油。

今天烹調時間剛好，未有過熟，魚肉鮮嫩，香草的芬芳由魚肉內爆發，加豉油是劃蛇添足。用上「爆發」一詞絕不為過，因為完全沒有加水，以香草和海鮮加熱時釋出的水份蒸熟，所以香草的芬芳己充分滲入魚肉內，齒頰留香！