Shaoxing Drunken Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken legs, about 900g in total
• 6 slices ginger
• 3 spring onions, halved
• 8 dried red dates
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 250ml Shaoxing wine, preferably hua diao
• 1 tbsp goji berries (optional)
• kitchen string

Before you cook

• Bone the chicken legs, keeping the skin in one piece, and lay them out skin side down.
• Score the thickest parts of the meat so each leg lies at an even thickness.
• Roll each leg tightly into a cylinder with the skin outside and tie it firmly at 2cm intervals with kitchen string.
• Fill a large bowl with cold water and plenty of ice and set it beside the hob.

Steps

1. Put the chicken rolls and the leg bones in a pan with the ginger, spring onions and red dates, and add cold water to cover by 3cm.
2. Bring the pan to a full boil, skimming off any foam that rises.
3. Turn the heat down until the water barely moves, cover the pan and poach for ten minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and leave the pan covered for a further ten minutes, so the residual heat finishes the job.
5. Lift the chicken rolls straight into the iced water and leave them for ten minutes, until they are cold right to the centre.
6. Strain 350ml of the poaching liquid into a jug and let it cool to room temperature.
7. Stir the salt and sugar into the cooled stock until they dissolve.
8. Add the Shaoxing wine, the cooked red dates and the goji berries to the stock.
9. Put the chilled chicken rolls in a container just big enough to hold them and pour the brine over so they are completely submerged.
10. Cover and refrigerate for at least twelve hours, and up to three days.
11. Lift a roll out, snip off the strings and cut it into 1cm slices with a sharp knife.
12. Arrange the slices on a plate, spoon over a little brine with a few berries, and serve cold.