Chicken for the Emperor

I get a little silly when I go to the Asian supermarkets here, perhaps it's because there is an abundance of Asian grocers in Sydney and here they just aren't the same. I like the massive warehouse sort in north/south London - Wing Yip or See Woo. The variety and prices are so much better than the stores in Chinatown and I tend to buy things I don't really need or will ever use.. Quite the same as hypermarket shopping - I'm just a fantastic impulse shopper!

I found this brilliant little packet of emperors chicken spice mix, which reminds me of what my family had a few times in Malaysia called beggars chicken. Not sure why the emperor is eating the sane thing as beggars (or the other way round?), but it is super yum and really easy to make.

The emperor chicken packet is about £1.50 and in it you get a pouch of powder mix and the necessary wrappers (one plastic wrap and a foil wrap). JLO and I usually get a whole chicken just under 1.5kg off our dinner, so we get some leftover for lunch the next day. I prefer the corn fed organic chicken, it seems to be more tender after cooking.

Wash the chicken, dry and place in the center of the plastic wrap with the foil wrap underneath. Rub all over with the powder mix and (as an extra touch) sprinkle gojiberries all over and place some inside the chicken. Wrap the chicken in the plastic, then the foil. Steam for 2 hours. Simples!

Steaming as opposed to baking is the best as the juices provide great gravy and makes eating any unloved part of the chicken easy. This is easy to make, and makes me look like a regular nigella at home as JLO loves it too.

I'm so glad that's what I'm having for lunch today. Thanks Wing Yip and the magical power of microwaves, without it I couldn't have yummy leftovers!

The magical packet
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Emperors Chicken, in it final glory state
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