Tea-Smoked Chicken
A classic Chinese dish combining the fragrance of tea and smoking. The chicken is tender and juicy, with a golden, glossy skin and a rich aroma.
Ingredients
13 items- Whole chicken (preferably spring chicken) 1 (about 1.5 kg)
- Coarse salt 2 tablespoons (30g)
- Sichuan peppercorns 1 tablespoon (10g)
- Star anise 2 pieces
- Light soy sauce 2 tablespoons
- Cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) 1 tablespoon
- Ginger 1 piece (20g)
- Scallions 2 stalks
- Black tea (or oolong tea) 30g
- White sugar 50g
- Rice (uncooked) 30g
- Dried orange peel 1 small piece
- Sesame oil 1 tablespoon
Nutrition
Steps （8 steps）
Clean the chicken thoroughly, remove head, feet and innards. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
Dry-fry salt, Sichuan peppercorns and star anise in a pan over low heat until fragrant and slightly yellow, then cool.
Mix the cooled spices with soy sauce, cooking wine, ginger slices and scallions. Rub the mixture all over the chicken, massage for 5 minutes.
Place the chicken in a sealable bag and refrigerate to marinate for at least 8 hours.
Remove chicken from bag, shake off excess spices. Steam over high heat for 30 minutes until fully cooked (juices run clear when pierced).
Line a wok or heavy pan with foil, add tea leaves, sugar, rice and orange peel. Place a steaming rack inside.
Put the steamed chicken on the rack, cover tightly. Heat over medium-high until smoking, then reduce heat to low and smoke for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
Remove chicken, brush hot with sesame oil. Let cool slightly, chop into pieces and serve.
Tips
The longer the marination, the deeper the flavor, at least 8 hours. Adjust steaming time based on chicken size. Watch the smoking heat to avoid burning. Soaking the tea leaves beforehand yields more smoke.
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