RECIPES: Chicken & Egg and More With David Chang

Dec. 28, 2007 — -- David Chang, the chef and co-owner of Momofuku Noodle Bar, Saam Bar and Ko in New York City, shares a few of his recipes.

Bath-Cooked Eggs

Recipes courtesy of David Chang.

Prep time: 45 to 60 minutes.

Ingredients:

12 Eggs

Instructions:

Place a rack in a pot or deep baking pan, fill with hot water and place on stove over lowest heat possible. Bring temperature to 140 to 145 degrees, and add eggs. They must stay on rack and not touch bottom. Cover and maintain low temperature, checking frequently.

Test an egg after 40 minutes by cracking on plate; if white is cooked, egg is done. If not, try another in 5 minutes. When eggs are done, use immediately or cool and refrigerate for up to a day. Bring to room temperature or reheat in hot water for a minute or so before serving.

CHICKEN AND EGG

Ingredients:

4 cups of duck fat or pork fat or olive oil

4 pieces of boned out chicken thigh

3 cups of of cooked white rice

For Eggs:

4 eggs

1 tablespoon vinegar

For Brine:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

3 cups water

For Smoking:

1 cup hickory/mesquite woodchips

For Tare:

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sake

1/4 cup mirin

Chicken bones and scraps from boned out chicken

For Salt and Sugar Kirby Cucumbers:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

4 or 5 Kirby cucumbers, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

Preparing Chicken:

Place chicken in brine for up to four hours, wash and pat dry. Put in smoker, cold smoke chicken for 45 minutes.Transfer chicken to large pot. Place chicken legs in a single layer and cover with fat or oil so that chickens are fully submerged. Cook at 250 for 2 hours.  Let chicken cool down in cooking liquid, carefully remove and place on a plate. Chill down well.

Preparing Tare:

Combine ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer for 2 hours, remove from heat, strain and cool.

Preparing Salt and Sugar Kirby cucumbers:

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl, toss to coat the cucumbers with the salt and sugar and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or more.  Taste. (If your quick pickles are too sweet or too salty, put them into a colander, rinse off the seasoning, dry in a kitchen towel or salad spinner, taste and correct). Serve immediately.

Preparing Soft Poached Eggs:

Poach eggs in a pot of simmering, salted water in which a tablespoon vinegar has been added (vinegar makes the egg whites constrict quickly) for about 3 minutes, use slotted spoon.

Assembling:

1. Heat oil. Place chicken on hot oil and cover with metal weight. When first side is seared, flip chicken with spatula, cover withweight and sear other side.

2. Portion rice in large bowl with plastic rice spoon.

3. When both sides of chicken are seared and chicken is heated through. Transfer to cutting board, slice on a diagonal in  1" pieces,transfer and fan out onto rice in bowl (adjust with chopsticks).Squeeze tare over chicken and into rice.

4. Warm soft poached egg by pouring hot water over it in third pan. Crack egg into sauce dish. Plate next to fanned out chicken.

5. Garnish bowl with salt and sugar cucumbers and scallions.  Season egg withground black pepper.

Pork-Belly Buns

Ingredients:

For Pork:

½ cup kosher salt

½ cup sugar

4½ cups water, divided

2½ pound skinless boneless pork belly, cut into quarters

½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

For Buns:

1 cup warm water (105-115°F), divided½ teaspoon active dry yeast3 tablespoons sugar plus a pinch2 tablespoons nonfat dried milk3½ cups cake flour (not self-rising)1½ teaspoons baking powderCanola oil for greasing and brushing

Equipment:

deep 12-inch skillet with domed lid or a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok with lid

Accompany With:

<hoisin sauce; thinly sliced cucumber; chopped scallions

Instructions:

Brine pork:
Stir together kosher salt, sugar, and 4 cups water until sugar and salt have dissolved. Put pork belly in a large sealable bag, then pour in brine. Carefully press out air and seal bag. Lay in a shallow dish and let brine, chilled, at least 12 hours.

Make dough for buns while pork is brining:

Stir together ¼ cup warm water with yeast and pinch of sugar. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk in dried milk and remaining 3/4 cup warm water.

Stir together flour and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in yeast mixture (do not add baking powder yet) with a fork until a dough forms. Knead dough with your hands in bowl until all of flour is incorporated. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth but still soft, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Roast pork while dough rises:
Preheat oven to 300°F with rack in middle.

Discard brine and put pork, fat side up, in an 8- to 9-inch square baking pan. Pour in broth and remaining ½ cup water. Cover tightly with foil and roast until pork is very tender, about 2 ½ hours. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 450°F, then roast until fat is golden, about 20 minutes more. Cool 30 minutes, then chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.

Cut chilled pork across the grain into ¼-inch slices. Chill slices in pan juices, covered, while making buns.

Make buns:

Punch down dough, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and flatten slightly into a disk. Sprinkle baking powder over center of dough, then gather edges of dough and pinch to seal in baking powder. Knead dough with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking until baking powder is incorporated, about 5 minutes. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then let dough stand 30 minutes.

Cut 16 (3- by 2-inch) pieces of wax paper.

Form dough into a 16-inch-long log. Cut into 16 equal pieces, then lightly dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Roll out 1 piece of dough into a 6- by 3-inch oval, lightly dusting surface, your hands, and rolling pin. Pat oval between your palms to remove excess flour, then brush half of oval lightly with oil and fold in half crosswise (do not pinch). Place bun on a piece of wax paper on a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Make more buns with remaining dough, then let stand, loosely covered, until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.

Set a large steamer rack inside skillet (or wok) and add enough water to reach within ½ inch of bottom of rack, then bring to a boil. Carefully place 5 to 7 buns (still on wax paper) in steamer rack (do not let buns touch). Cover tightly and steam over high heat until buns are puffed and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer buns to a plate with tongs, then discard wax paper and wrap buns in kitchen towels (not terry cloth) to keep warm. Steam remaining buns in 2 batches, adding boiling-hot water to skillet as needed.

Return buns (still wrapped in towels) to steamer rack in skillet and keep warm (off heat), covered.

To Serve:Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Heat sliced pork (in liquid in baking dish), covered, until hot, 15 to 20 minutes.

Brush bottom half of each bun with hoisin sauce, then sandwich with 2 or 3 pork slices and some cucumber and scallions.

Cook's notes:Pork belly can be brined up to 24 hours. Pork can be roasted and sliced 2 days ahead and chilled (in liquid), covered. Buns can be steamed and cooled completely, then chilled, wrapped tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, up to 1 day or frozen up to 1 week. (Thaw wrapped frozen buns in refrigerator.) Reheat buns, wrapped in a dampened kitchen towel and then tightly in foil, in a 350°F oven until soft and heated through, about 15 minutes.