Soy Braised Chicken

Soy sauce is as important to Asian cooking as balsamic vinegar is to Italian cooking. It's basically made by fermenting soy beans. Soy sauce is an important flavouring ingredient in so many kinds of Asian cooking. And just like balsamic vinegar, there are even varieties of soy sauce that are rare and very expensive.

"A study by National University of Singapore shows that Chinese dark soy sauce contains 10 times the antioxidants of red wine, and can help prevent cardiovascular diseases.[13] (However, it is unlikely to be used in nearly as great a quantity as wine.) Soy sauce is rich in lactic acid bacteria and of excellent anti-allergic potential.[14][15]"  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce

Today, I made Soy Braised Chicken. It's a Filipino dish called Adobong Manok. To braise any protein basically means that you will be cooking the meat in a liquid in low heat until it is fork tender. This type of cooking is used to make pot roast and coq au vin, just to name a few. I guess this is the Filipino version of coq au vin :). This dish has only a few ingredients, chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, onions, bay leaves, garlic and pepper, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Basically, you throw everything in a pot, let it simmer for about an hour and then serve it over fluffy pillows of delicious jasmine rice. The authentic Filipino version does not use sweet potatoes. But I like the contrast of it's sweetness, and I love it for it's nutrition. This will definitely spice things up in your home.

Soy Braised Chicken

1 package of  "pinwheel chicken"

2 cups of water

10 oz bottle of low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 tsp of whole black peppercorns

3 garlic gloves - chopped

2 bay leaves

1 onion - chopped
1 yellow potato - chopped

1 sweet potato - chopped

2 TBL of vegetable oil

Heat a large pot in meduim-high heat with vegetable oil. Brown all chicken pieces. Not all the chicken pieces may fit at the same time, so brown 3-4 pieces at a time. When all the chicken pieces are browned, put them all back in the pot and add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce, water, vinegar, black peppercorns and potatoes.

Bring to a boil, then simmer at low heat, uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the chicken and potatoes are fork tender. There is no need to add salt, as the soy sauce is already salty. Taste and add salt if needed.

Serve on top of hot jasmine rice.