Cindy Thomas, August 16, 2015
Daniel Boulud calls this dish a casual meal that all ages will enjoy. I had the pleasure of serving this meal to my family and some good friends and it was truly enjoyed by all ages. The recipe begins with marinating the chicken in a mix of soy sauce, honey, orange, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and scallions. This is a combination of ingredients I am familiar with in my home cooking and that we regularly enjoy. It was interesting to me that so much care goes into the preparation of the marinade. Where I would typically have just roughly chopped a clove of garlic, Boulud calls for halving the clove, removing the germ, then smashing it and then it is finally whirred together with everything in the food processor! This seems like a lot of extra work, but the outcome was the most lovely, complex and smooth mix of flavor. Absolutely worth the effort. The “laquering” process involves lots of basting throughout the baking of the chicken and a final 5 minutes under the broiler with more basting. The result was beautifully browned and juicy chicken that was full of flavor!
The noodle salad made a lovely accompaniment to the chicken. I would normally have made rice for a meal like this, so it was fun to change it up for my family.
If you’d like to make this recipe, it can be found in this cookbook: Cafe Boulud Cookbook
Also, if you’d like to see how other members of Weekend in a French Kitchen fared with this recipe, check out this link: Weekend in a French Kitchen
Welcome to my site! I'm Cindy. I'm a native Oregonian and have lived on the west coast most of my life. I have been interested in food and cooking since childhood. Food is something I'm passionate about! Whether it's growing a garden or scouting out the best new restaurant in town, I'm all in! It is my hope that this site will be a place to share all kinds of delicious goodness from my native northwest and beyond!
This looks AMAZING!!!!!!! Great work!
That bowl of lacquered chicken looks so good – I want it all over again.