Recipe - Romertopfs Beggars Chicken

Stephen Ceideburg
4 pound Frying chicken, cut into
sections
Arrowroot
MARINADE:
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 tablespoon Dry sherry
One fourth teaspoon Chinese Five Spices (see
note below)
One fourth teaspoon White pepper
1 Clove pressed garlic
One fourth cup Soy sauce
1 teaspoon Grated fresh ginger root

For teriyaki lovers, here's the finest recipe inspired by the excellent
little pamphlet Cook in Clay published by the makers of the Romertopf pot.
We've served this dish, with variations, to as many as a dozen guests with
never anything less than ecstatic results. The chicken comes out tender and
full of flavor, especially after being marinated in this incredible sauce.
You can add all sorts of Chinese or Japanese seasonings, but be sure they
stay on the bland side. Caution: Don't add any saltthere's enough in any
good soy sauce. (We prefer the rich, heavy soy sauce bottled in Hong Kong
in a brown stone jug by Ko Sang Yick.)

In a nonmetal bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade, mix well,
and marinate the pieces of chicken for at least half a day, turning
frequently.

When ready to cook, presoak pot, top and bottom, in water for 15 minutes.

Add the chicken and the marinade to the pot.

Place covered pot in a cold oven.

Set temperature to 450 degrees F.

Cook 45 minutes.

Ten minutes before end of cooking time, remove the pot and pour off the
liquid into a saucepan.

Return the pot to the oven, uncovered, for the final 10 minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, bring the liquid in saucepan to a boil and thicken with
arrowroot.

Serve with rice, liberally drenched with the sauce.

For an optional Chinese touch, sprinkle the chicken with almonds and sesame
seeds.

Note: Chinese Five Spices are a combination, in powder form, usually found
in Chinese markets. If not available, use star anise, ground to a powder
with a mortar and pestle.

From "Romertopf, The ClayPot Cookbook", Georgia McLeod Sales and Grover
Sales, Atheneum, NY, 1979. ISBN 0689705476

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini