Tea Smoked Chicken

No matter the quality, children don’t always appreciate the foods their parents eat. That was certainly the case with my brothers and me, and some of the foods our father cooked. It was especially true of tea smoked chicken. As wisps of smoke from burning tea leaves and brown sugar escaped from my father’s rudimentary, self-made smoker, they scented the kitchen air. We hated the smoky smell and taste, and thus we dubbed it cigarette butt chicken.

We would never eat it, making fun of him every time he cooked it. However he loved it and continued to prepare it, often serving it to guests as part of a homemade Chinese banquet.

As I got older and my palate matured, my opinion of tea smoked chicken evolved. I learned to love the salty, smoky flavor as well as the spicy, citrusy, numbness of Szechuan peppercorns, which were rubbed onto the raw chicken. I began to appreciate that all the flavor came from a mere six ingredients. Since tea smoked chicken can be served at room temperature, it is perfect made ahead of time as the center-piece of an already cooked summer meal. I learned how to cook it; coating the chicken in a simple, two-ingredient dry rub and letting it flavor overnight, steaming it until cooked through, and then smoking it over jasmine tea leaves and brown sugar, staining it a speckled bronze.

I no longer think of tea smoked chicken as cigarette butt chicken. As with many of the foods my father used to make that I disliked as a child, I have gained an appreciation for it and now cook it several times a year. My own children have come to like it as well, never even knowing that my brothers and I maligned it with the nickname cigarette butt chicken.

Tea Smoked Chicken

Adapted from The Gourmet Chinese Regional Cookbook by Calvin B.T. Lee and Audrey Evans Lee

Making tea smoked chicken is really not as hard as it sounds. The only tricky part about cooking it is fashioning a smoker that seals adequately so that none of the smoke escapes into the room, causing teasing from your family. This is not difficult if you use a double layer of long pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil.

1½ hours active time, plus sitting overnight, about 4 servings

2 Tbsp. kosher salt

2 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns

1 whole chicken, about 3 lbs.

⅓ cup dark brown sugar

⅓ cup jasmine tea leaves

3 Tbsp. sesame oil

1. Heat the salt and peppercorns on medium in a small, heavy skillet, stirring constantly for about 4 or 5 minutes. The peppercorns will become fragrant and the salt slightly brown. Allow them to cool and then grind them to a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle or with a rolling pin, between two pieces of wax paper.
2. Remove any excess fat from the cavity of the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub the chicken inside and out with the salt-peppercorn mixture. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit on a plate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
3. Remove the plastic wrap from the chicken, and using a Chinese steamer or a large pot with a steaming rack, steam it over rapidly boiling water for about 40 minutes or until done, that is when the juices run clear. Allow the chicken to cool until you can handle it, remove it from the steamer, and pat it dry with paper towels.
4. Thoroughly line a wok (or heavy pot) with a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil long enough to extend a few inches beyond the edge of the wok. Also line the lid. Sprinkle the bottom of the wok with the brown sugar and tea leaves. Place a rack or four chopsticks in a cross hatch patter in the wok to keep the chicken above the tea and sugar. Put the chicken on the rack.
5. Place the wok over high heat. When the sugar begins to smoke, cover the wok with the lid and tightly roll the aluminum foil from the wok around the aluminum foil from the lid all the way around the wok to seal in the smoke. Lower the heat slightly and smoke the chicken for 15 minutes. At the end of that time, turn off the heat and let the covered wok stand for 30 minutes more. Remove the chicken and allow it to cool.
6. Brush the chicken with the sesame oil. Either carve the chicken in the American manner or chop it into bite-size pieces with the bone in, according to the Chinese manner. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Please like and share this post: