Recipe: Tamarind Soy Chicken

Courtesy of Tara Roberts, Co-Owner of Two Hands.

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Co-owner Tara Roberts describes her Australian-inspired cafe & bar, Two Hands, as a welcoming space where guests can connect over fresh, flavorful food and drinks. “Two Hands is about community, and the name signifies that. It’s also about the work that makes it all come together,” she explains. “It takes two hands to cook a meal, make a coffee, or to build something, and these are the components of the experience we try to create for guests.”

With an all-day menu that starts daily at 8 a.m., as well as dinner Tuesday through Saturday, guests can enjoy a variety of globally influenced dishes morning to night. For this signature recipe, a classic Chinese soy chicken gets elevated and refined with a tamarind glaze and whisky shoyu and ends with a simple presentation, so the focus remains on the chicken. “The tamarind and whisky shoyu finish is the coolest aspect of this dish,” she says. “It adds a depth of flavor that is familiar to a lot of people: The smokiness from the whisky, the oak profile from the barrels it’s aged in, and the shoyu itself, salty and umami.” (twohandshospitality.com)

TAMARIND SOY CHICKEN

Courtesy of Tara Roberts, Co-Owner of Two Hands

Tamarind Glaze:

  • 28 ounces brown sugar
  • 4 1⁄2 ounces water
  • '7 ounces vegan fish sauce OR regular fish sauce
  • 1 jar tamarind puree
  • 8 1⁄2 ounces fresh lime juice 
  • 1⁄2 ounce salt
  1. Combine the sugar, water, fish sauce, salt, and lime juice in a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil for about 30-45 minutes. (Note: You want this to become a thick-ish caramel but remember, it’s going to thicken as it cools. A good way to test if it’s done is to put three or four spoonfuls on a plate in the fridge to set for a few minutes. If it runs like honey, you’re good to go.)

BRINING THE CHICKEN:

  • 1 gallon water
  • 1 gallon ice
  • 4 1⁄2 ounces Kosher salt
  • 8 1⁄2 ounces brown sugar
  • 4 1⁄2 ounces Tamari
  • 8 bay leaves, dried
  • 8 star anise
  • .2 ounces coriander seed, whole
  • .2 ounces black peppercorns
  • 2 ounces fennel seed
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 1⁄2 white onion, peeled and thick sliced
  • 6 peeled garlic cloves
  • 1 or 2 chickens, around 3 pounds each, trimmed of any excess fat from around the neck area and the carcass opening at the base and leg area
  • Cheesecloth sheet and butcher’s twine
  1. In a large pot, bring the water, salt, sugar, onion, garlic, and spice sachet up to a boil and turn off the heat. Allow this to chill to room temperature and refrigerate until cold, approximately 6 hours.
  2. Once chilled, place the chicken or chickens into a very large container or roasting pan that is high enough to cover so the chickens will be fully submerged in the brine. Pour the brine over the chickens and brine for 12-16 hours (usually overnight).

BRAISING THE CHICKEN:

  • 10 1⁄2 ounces soy sauce
  • 3 1⁄2 ounces ginger, 1⁄4-inch slices
  • 14 ounces onion (4 each, peeled and quartered)
  • 1.7 ounces garlic, whole cloves
  • 1.7 ounces lemongrass, 3-inch batons
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 star anise
  • 5 black cardamom pods
  • Brined whole chickens
  • Cold water - enough to just cover chickens.
  1. Remove the chickens from the brine and allow to drain of any liquid. Transfer the chicken into the pot together with all the braising ingredients and fill with enough cold water to just cover the chicken, leaving approximately 1-2 inches from the top. Cover tightly with a lid or foil.
  2. Use a medium heat and bring to a simmer and boil the chicken. Simmer for about one and a half hours, at which point, you will use a thermometer to test the temperature for doneness.
  3. Once fully chilled overnight in the liquid, remove the chicken from the poaching liquid.
  4. Place the pot with all the poaching liquid and ingredients back onto the heat and bring up to a simmer. Strain the liquid through a strainer lined with the cheesecloth into another, smaller pot to remove any impurities. Keep this warm on a low heat while you finish preparing the chicken.
  5. Once out of the liquid, cut down either side of the backbone, using your poultry scissors, and remove the backbone. Flip the bird over and gently cut through the breast cartilage down the center of the breast plate.

TAMARIND GLAZED SOY CHICKEN:

  • Fresh cilantro to garnish
  • Poaching broth
  • Whisky Barrel-Aged Shoyu (Haku Mizunara from Kyoto, Japan)
  • Two Hands Chili Crunch Dipping Sauce Fresh lime wedges
  1. To finish the chicken, preheat the oven to 370 degrees. Place the chicken halves into a very large sauté pan or roasting dish, cut side down with the wings and breast meat facing upward.
  2. Pour into the pan or dish enough of the poaching liquid to come about half an inch up on the chicken, reserving some liquid for serving with the chicken. Spoon, brush baste, or drizzle over the tamarind caramel evenly all over the chicken skin.
  3. Place in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes, basting the chickens every 7-10 minutes with liquid from the pan and glazing with a little more tamarind caramel.
  4. Once the chicken has evenly caramelized skin and heated through, carefully, using tongs or a large spatula, transfer to your serving platter or you can serve straight from the pan or roasting dish. Garnish with cilantro, side bowls of the warm broth for each guest, Two Hands Chili Crunch, fresh lime, and a drizzle of the whisky barrel- aged shoyu over the chicken.

“The tamarind and whisky shoyu finish is the coolest aspect of this dish. It adds depth of flavor that is familiar to a lot of people: The smokiness from the whisky, the oak profile from the barrels it’s aged in, and the shoyu itself, salty and umami.”