Chicken with Ham (Yin-yen-gai)

  • 1 3-lb fryer, whole, fresh
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil

Fill a large, heavy pot with enough hot tap water to cover the chicken by at least 2 inches. Cover and bring to rapid boil. Remove giblets from cavity of chicken. Holding the chicken by a wing or the neck, dip it into the boiling water for 3 seconds; remove and let cool for 5 seconds. Repeat this process 5 times. This insures that the chicken skin will not break up later, allowing juices to escape too fast. Bring the water to a fast boil again and immerse the whole chicken. Cover, bring to a boil, and turn heat off. Cool the chicken with tap water. Dry at room temperature or with a paper towl and rub with oil. Save the water in which the chicken was cooked to use for the vegetables. Cut the chicken into pieces approximately 1½x3 inches, bones and all.

  • 8-10 oz fully cooked smoked ham, preferably Virginia ham

Cut the ham into slices about the same size as the chicken pieces, 1/8-inch thick.

  • 1 lb gai choy (mustard cabbage), or frozen broccoli (thawed), or French green beans

Cut the gai choy, broccoli or green beans into 2-inch pieces. Bring the water in which the chicken was cooked to a boil and cook the vegetables in it for 1 minute. Drain and let cool.

Sauce:

  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 2 Tbsp chopped green onion
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger root
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt or to taste
  • ½ tsp msg
  • Dash of white pepper
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
  • 2 tsp Mui Kwe Lu

To prepare the sauce, heat the wok, add vegetable oil, then add the green onions and ginger. When browned slightly, add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Warm the chicken and the ham at this point by pouring the boiling sauce mixture over them. Drain the mixture back into the pot and repeat the process 4 or 5 times, ending with all of the sauce mixture back in the pot. Then add the remaining sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch mixture. When the contents again reach a boil, gradually stir in the cornstarch mixture. Turn off the heat and when boiling has subsided, add 2 tsp Mui Kwe Lu.

Use the vegetable as the base, top it with the chicken pieces (skin side up), and top each chicken piece with a ham slice. DO NOT add the sauce to the chicken until the dinner is ready to be served.

Yield: 2 servings

NOTE: This dish has highly romantic connotations and is generally served at weddings, anniversaries, or at a candlelit dinner for two. YIN YEN is a Chinese wild duck. Upon reaching maturity, YIN YEN mate for life. They are always seen in pairs. When sleeping, they twine their necks together so that if danger comes, one can quickly alert the other. Throughout the centuries poets have praised YIN YEN for its love and faithfulness. Those in the culinary field wishing to honor the birds created this dish using unseasoned chicken and ham, blending tastes to show dependence and enhancement, one of the other. Therefore, when it is served, the ingredients should be eaten together and not just a single piece of ham or chicken alone. If you are single, serve this to your loved one with soft music and candlelight. When you tell the story of YIN YEN, you may shortly find yourself single no more!

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