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1
Poach the Chicken
60 Mins • Simmer
Simmer, ~95°C (203°F); chicken to 74°C (165°F)
Put the 1500 g chicken in a large pot with the quartered onion, carrot, celery, 2 whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, cardamom pods, peppercorns and 5 g of the salt. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then turn down to a bare simmer and cook for 50–60 minutes, until the thickest part of the thigh reads 74°C (165°F) and the juices run clear.
A rolling boil makes the meat tough and the stock cloudy — the water should barely tremble, with a bubble rising now and then.
Done when: Thigh reads 74°C (165°F); the leg moves freely in its joint.
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2
Pick the Meat and Strain the Stock
15 Mins • Pick & Strain
Warm, ~60°C (140°F)
Lift the chicken out and rest it for 10 minutes. Pull the meat off the bone in shreds and slices — about 800 g — and discard the skin and bones. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and measure out 500 ml for the sauce and 750 ml for the rice; keep the rest for soup another day.
Pick the meat while it is warm — cold chicken shreds into dry strings instead of soft pieces.
Done when: 800 g of soft picked meat; clear, golden stock in the jug.
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3
Cook the Rice
25 Mins • Boil & Steam
Boil, then low simmer, ~95°C (203°F)
Melt 30 g of the butter in a heavy pot, add the rinsed 500 g rice and fry for 2 minutes until the grains turn opaque. Pour in the hot 750 ml stock and 3 g of the salt, boil hard for 3 minutes, then cover, turn the heat to its lowest, and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Rest, still covered, for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
Do not lift the lid while the rice steams — the steam is what finishes the grains.
Done when: Separate, tender grains; no liquid left in the pot.
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4
Blend the Walnut Sauce
10 Mins • Soak & Blend
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Put the torn 140 g bread in a bowl with 250 ml of the warm stock and leave it for 5 minutes to go completely soft. Blitz the 180 g walnuts in a food processor until very fine, then add the soaked bread, the 125 ml milk, the 4 crushed garlic cloves, the ground coriander, 2 g of the paprika, 2 g of the salt and another 250 ml of stock. Blend until smooth and thick, like thick mayonnaise — add a splash more stock if it will not move.
The bread must be soaked soft before it goes in, or the sauce turns gritty instead of silky.
Done when: A smooth, pale-gold paste that holds its shape on a spoon.
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5
Simmer the Sauce and Make the Red Oil
10 Mins • Simmer
Gentle simmer, ~90°C (194°F)
Pour the blended sauce into a pan and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens to the texture of tahini and tastes of walnuts and garlic — it should coat the back of a spoon. Meanwhile melt the remaining 15 g butter in a small pan, stir in the last 1 g paprika, take it off the heat at once and set the red oil aside.
Paprika burns in seconds, so take the butter off the heat the moment the paprika goes in.
Done when: Thick, glossy sauce; the red oil is bright, not brown.
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6
Plate Hot Over Rice
5 Mins • Plate
Serve hot, ~70°C (158°F)
Mound the hot rice on a large platter, lay the picked chicken over it, and spoon most of the hot walnut sauce over the chicken and around the rice. Drizzle the paprika oil over the top, scatter the reserved chopped walnuts and the parsley, and serve at once with the remaining sauce in a jug.
Serve it hot — as the sauce cools it firms up, and the Egyptian way is steaming rice and hot sauce.
Done when: Steaming rice, hot sauce, chicken glistening with red oil.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve at once, while the rice is steaming and the sauce is hot, with pickled cucumbers and a green salad on the side. Pass the extra sauce at the table — everyone wants more.
Egypt
1h 15m
