On Jun 14, 11:35*am, Chemiker > wrote:
> Some (read: many) years ago, I saw Jeff Smith make an
> oriental chicken appetizer on TV. I have almost all of his
> books, but can't seem to locate it.
>
> It involved boiling and then chilling a chicken breast.
> Slicing it longwise and then crosswise to make 6-8
> pieces. Placed in a "boat" (like they bake ziti in)
> it was covered with roasted sesame oil, in which was
> salt and ground ginger. Chill and serve.
>
> Anybody recall this or know a pointer to where I
> might find it?
>
Sounds like cold poached chicken appetizer. Here's the version I have
used for a banquet. It calls for a small whole chicken, but you could
adapt it to a breast. It doesn't call for sesame oil but you could
use that instead of the dipping sauce, or maybe just add a touch of it
to the dipping sauce. Alternatively, you could brush sesame oil
sparsely all over the chicken after it's cooked and cooled but before
you cut it up.

Boil 7 or 8 cups of water in a large pot. Cut 3 scallions into
sections and add them, along with 4 or 5 slices of fresh ginger, 2
teaspoons of salt and 3 tablespoons of sherry or rice wine. Place the
chicken in the water. The water will initially stop boiling, then
return. Reduce the heat so it stops short of a boil. Barely simmer
for about 15 minutes, then turn off heat, cover, and let cool in the
water. It will finish cooking as the water cools and will be juicier
than other ways of cooking chicken. When it has cooled, remove the
chicken, drain, and chop it into large bite-sized pieces. Arrange on
a platter so it looks (again) like a chicken and serve with the
dipping sauce. (Note: the easiest way to chop it is first to section
it into legs, thighs, wings, breasts and backs, and then chop each of
those into appropriate sizes. Then reassemble.)

Sauce: 2 tablespoons peanut oil, heated in a small saucepan, to which
add 2 cloves garlic, crushed, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 1 TB prepared
mustard (English or Chinese). (Note: if you're making up the mustard
just for this recipe, make that the first thing you do so it can sit
as long as possible.) -aem