Silken chicken is one of the easiest chicken dishes in my mum's repertoire and this one yield tremendous flavour in exchange of a little prep and then not much cooking time. It is imperative that you use the best quality chicken and condiments you can afford as this dish is all about the ingredients. The resulting flavour of this dish is far better than the sum of its parts, but then, its parts must be top-notch. This is an ideal meal whenever you are short on time and/or patience but still want to sit down to a great dinner, sometimes life gets in the way of cooking. Another plus is that all ingredients should be easily available if they are not in your pantry already. You will love this dish. Promise.


Ingredients

• Chicken drumsticks and thighs: 8 pieces in total, cut up into manageable pieces, bones, skin and all. You can use chicken breast if you prefer.
• Five Spice powder: 1 tablespoon. You can make your own by grinding together cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, anise and Szechuan peppers.
  
• Fresh or dry chillies: 1 or to taste, finely chopped
• Garlic: 4 cloves, finely minced
  
• Soy sauce: 1 cup
• Dark soy sauce: 1 cup
  
• Kecap Manis: 1 cup (Ketcap Manis, an Indonesian sauce, is similar to soy sauce but sweet with a thicker consistency. Available from most Asian grocers.
• Shaoxing rice wine: 1 cup
• Fermented soy paste: 2 tablespoons
  
• Spring onions: 1 bunch, cut into 10 cm lengths
• Fresh ginger: 1 large knob, sliced thinly
• Fresh coriander: Half bunch, finely chopped

Dry chicken with paper towels and rub with five spice powder, chillies and garlic. In a large saucepan bring to a simmer soy sauce, dark soy sauce, kecap manis, rice wine, fermented soy paste, spring onions and ginger. Add the chicken pieces and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes. Adjust for salt and pepper and sprinkle coriander on top. Serve hot with steamed rice and a simple stir-fried vegetable. You will have leftover sauce after this meal which you can freeze and use in your next batch of silken chicken or you can warm it up, spoon it over white rice and eat it as is. Good.