Chinese Red Glutinous Rice Wine Stewed Chicken

Sigh …. I’m in heaven ….

Thank you, Pris!

It’s been too long since Priscilla’s grandmother fed me my first taste of this very traditional Foo Chow (Hock Chew) dish. Stewed Red Wine Chicken. At the first look of it, I was a little scared. But after the first bite ….. I made the little old lady happy by asking for a second helping. Or maybe she just thought I was such a greedy girl.

She’d passed away two years ago. Bless her soul. 

There goes my chance of having more of this wonderful dish, or so I thought. 

I did give the commercial ones a try and they have never been up to par. It’s either too sweet or too sour. Seriously, I thought this was a difficult dish to make. 

Another friend made some for me when she’d got a homemade batch of the wine and lees. And I went off to heaven again. Sigh … will I ever be able to make this myself?

Then Priscilla came for a visit and brought me a bottle of homemade red wine and lees (made by her niece), recipe handed down from grandma! Gosh … I didn’t know if I could pull this off. 

Well waddaya know? I did. I know it doesn’t look like the real thing. Hey, it’s my first attempt but the taste is just as heavenly as I remembered it. And you know, it isn’t rocket science. In fact, I took the lazy way out and just dumped everything in the slow cooker.

You’re suppose to sauté some ginger for garnish and brown the chicken pieces before stewing. Oh what the heck. 

By the way, this isn’t red wine made from grapes. It’s made from red glutinous rice. So, basically, it’s a rice wine with a glaringly vibrant deep red. That’s why it’s so scary looking. 

INGREDIENTS

Half a chicken, cut into large chunks

1 heaped tbs Chinese glutinous red wine lees

1 cup Chinese red wine

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs finely grated ginger or ginger juice

5 - 6 pieces thick sliced old ginger

METHOD

(Like I said I did the lazy easy way)

Marinade chicken pieces with the lees, sesame oil and grated ginger. 

Leave for 30 mins to an hour

Plonk chicken into slow cooker.

Add sliced ginger, Chinese red wine and soy sauce.

Set slow cooker to High and cook for about 2 - 3 hours or until chicken is cooked. 

(You don’t want to overcook the chicken or it’ll fall off the bone)

Serve as is with fluffy white rice or the traditional way, over cooked rice vermicelli.

*What I’d learnt from this dish. It isn’t in the cooking. It’s in the wine making. Good wine makes good stew.

The commercial stuff …. yuk. Chinese glutinous red wine making is an art.

Review: Lebanese Wines

@ O'Gourmet

This was yet another privileged event for my other half and I, having been invited again to another of O'Gourmet's very exclusive wine tasting evenings.We were very excited to hear that they were featuring Lebanese wines that evening. What with the sheer production volume and reputation of the French wines and now, New World wineries, we have perhaps forgotten that the area around Lebanon was most possibly the granddaddy of all wine growing regions and the birthplace of wine itself! And apparently,

Chateau Musar had been around since the 1930s. Duh.

We also had the privilege of having the winery owner himself, Mr Ralph Hochar of Chateau Musar, who is the 3rd generation owner, to present his very exclusive and limited edition wines and to give us an overall history and details regarding the grapes, procedures etc, that our amateur minds needed to absorb... my apologies to the other folks who attended this event, I was only speaking for myself and hubby.

We started off with the Chateau Musar Cuvee Blanc 2004. It's made with Obaideh grapes from vines aging from 50 - 75 years. It had the most lovely fresh green apple scent. This was served to accompany an antipasti platter of marinated olives, peppers, mushrooms, calamari rings and my favorite of all .... the creme crottin tartlets, which is a creamy goat's cheese in a tartlet shell. Didn't think the shells did it any credit tho, I just dug out the crottin and ate it on its own .... Mmmmm, heaven!

Oh yeah, the wine ..... beautifully complimented each other. Wish they'd served more of that. Personally, I'd have this wine with some fresh oysters / seafood and a cheese platter and not the very marinated, sour feta stuffed tomatos that dulled my tastebuds (couldn't even taste the feta) and changed the taste of the wine.

That probably contributed to my opinion of this next wine ....

The Chateau Musar Jeune Blanc 2009, an unoaked blend of Viognier, Vermentino and Chardonnay, also served with the same antipasti platter, didn't hit my pleasure points as much as the Cuvee did. But then, I'm biased towards the more fruity wines. I thought the acidity was a little sharp. (Tongue-buds still a little wonky, remember?)

The unoaked Chateau Musar Jeune Red 2009, a blend of Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon was next and to compliment it was a Duck Confit Pizzette (where's the duck?) ... I thought the pizza was good even if I couldn't find any duck pieces in them and, yes, it went well with the wine. I felt the tannins were a little strong for me when drunk on its own but it mellowed some and went down easier when drunk with the food. I can imagine this with a good tomato-based pasta and maybe even some local curry dishes. Yessss ....!

The last and my favorite red for the night, the Chateau Musar Hochar Pere et Fils 2002, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan and a hint of Grenache. A lightly oaked red, with all the scents of dark berries you can think of. Lovely! This was paired with Sous Vide Shortrib Beef Tempura with a spiced dip and some pickled red onions. Also recommended to compliment the wine: game, poultry.

Recap:

1. Château Musar Cuvée Blanc 2004

2. Château Musar Jeune Blanc 2009

(Paired with an antipasti platter of marinated olives, pepperone, mushrooms, tabbouleh, creme crottin mini tartlets and calamari rings)

3. Château Musar Jeune Rouge 2009

(Paired with a duck confit pizzette)

4. Château Musar Hochar Pere et Fils Red 2002

(Paired with sous vide shortribs beef tempura with ras-el-hanout spiced dip)

All in all, it was a good evening and we also had some light moments with the in-house French Sommelier poking fun and making jabs at the Lebanese wines ... which I think he'd already swirled, nosed and "tasted" a couple of bottles before the event even started. :D

Not surprising that I went home happy (and pretty "tanned") with 3 of my favorite bottles in the bag.

Food by Chinoz

Review: Food & Wine Pairing @ O'Gourmet

This was a truly enjoyable and enlightening evening. Thanks to Ling Ang of O'Gourmet Food Hall @ Bangsar Shopping Center for the invitation, Sommelier Sebastien and Louis Choong for the free flowing information and wine, Chinoz and Chef Afiz for the food.

I must admit that stuff like "Wine for Dummies" was written with people like my husband and I in mind. While we do enjoy the occasional bottle with friends and sometimes a glass or two with food, this occasion was certainly an eye opener.

Having 5 wine and food pairings in relative quick succession to compare and contrast against, brought into vivid focus the beautiful ballet of flavors possible when wine and food are well matched. Abstract terms like "bouquet" and "finish" now became delightfully real.

The smoked barramundi, for example, was a silky smooth texture, blended with the smokey salty flavors of balsamic and a perfectly proportioned, quick, sharp, tart accent of a tiny sliver of lemon. Just as I was getting used to this particular corner of taste heaven, the paired wine that had nosed as slightly earthy, now finished with a beautifully balanced flourish of fruity sweetness. Mmmmm... magic!

This was the list of wine and food pairings:

1. Tedeschi Capitel Tenda Soave Doc Classico 2009, Pedemonte-Valpolicella, Italy

Paired with: Camembert Cheese

2: Rizzi Barbera D'Alba 2007, Treiso, Italy

Paired with: Pappardelle Pasta and Meatball (yeah, just one meatball)

3: Tedeschi Valpolicello Classico Superiore Doc 2008, Pedemonte-Valpolicella, Italy

Paired with: Pizza (pepperoni/ mushroom & egg ... the crust was awesome!)

4: Shinas Estate Innocent Viognier 2009, Mildura-Victoria, Australia

Paired with: Smoked Barramundi with Balsamic Reduction

(Wish I had more of these ... Yum!)

5: Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache 2009, Barossa Valley, South Australia

Paired with: Moroccan Lamb Merguez

(This wine really intensified the spiciness of the dish. Just when you thought your tongue had calmed down ... *sip*.... Pow! It hits you all over again!)

6: Shinas Estate Verdict Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Mildura-Victoria, Australia

(There was no food pairing for this)

My personal favorites:

White Wine: Tedeschi Capitel Tenda Soave Doc Classico 2009, Pedemonte-Valpolicella, Italy

Red Wine: Rizzi Barbera D'Alba 2007, Treiso, Italy

Dish: Smoked Barramundi with Balsamic Reduction

Pairing: Rizzi Barbera D'Alba 2007, Treiso, Italy with Pappardelle & Meatball

Did I mention we had a great time?