2.101
16 (Sat) April 2011
Chicken with 44 Cloves of Garlic
2.0
by me
at home
-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
w W and DJ
Earlier in the day, while browsing through a special-edition chicken-dedicated copy of the magazine Cooking Light and seeing the simple recipe, I was inspired to try making this dish for the first time. Although I’d heard about it, I had no idea what it entailed, so I followed the recipe to the letter, which was simple enough: chicken and garlic cloves garlic, seasoned with tarragon and salt and pepper, placed in a covered baking dish on top of celery and onions, which release their liquid and sort of braise the bird in the process. It was okay, certainly moist and garlicky, but a bit insipid overall.
It wasn’t until after tasting the result did I do some online digging to see what the real deal is. 3 minutes later, I hadn’t come across a definitive recipe, but they all had what Cooking Light omits: olive oil.
Next time, I’ll be sure to start by browning the chicken and garlic in olive oil. In addition to providing the rich flavor of the oil itself, the browning would intensify the taste and texture of the main ingredients.
(For more details re food, see WHAT)
(For more details re venues, see WHERE IN KOREA)
