Chicken Cacciatore
“This dish is chicken cacciatore in Italian, or they call it ‘hunter chicken’ in French. It wasn’t a dish that I grew up eating. It was a dish that my sous chef, when I was working at Blue Water, would made for staff meals. He still took time to make it, and it meant a lot more (to me) because he was my superior and I looked up to him.” – Clement Chan
Recipe created by Clement Chan — Chef/Owner, Le Tigre and Torafuku
Clement Chan is the chef and owner of Le Tigre, a food truck that serves modern Asian cuisine all over Vancouver, and Torafuku, a modern fusion restaurant serving contemporary dishes of pan Asian flavours that are crafted with local ingredients sourced from local farms. Clement’s inspiration and cooking journey began with his grandma. He has worked at variety of notable restaurants in Vancouver, such as Hapa Izakaya, Chambar and Blue Water Cafe before opening his own food truck called Le Tigre Truck, which is well known for their fried chicken.
Instructions
Brine
- In a small pan toast coriander and cumin until fragrant.
- Add water, salt, sugar and bay leaf, and bring up to a simmer.
- Strain brine into a bowl or container, then add ice. Stir.
- Place chicken thighs in brine and leave in the fridge for 2 hours. (discard brine after chicken is removed)
Cacciatore Sauce
- Wash chicken thighs and pat dry.
- Toast coriander and cumin in pan, remove and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium hot pan and sear chicken thighs until golden brown, then remove and set aside.
- Sweat onions and garlic in the same pan until translucent.
- Deglaze pan with sake, add coriander, cumin and canned and vine ripe tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir.
- Add tamari, chicken stock and dashi to pan and bring up to a simmer.
- Place seared chicken thighs in the pan and cover with tomato sauce. Cover with a lid and slowly bring up to a simmer.
- In a separate small pan, season pan roast the carrot then place aside. Do the same with all the coloured peppers, then mushrooms (place all aside).
For Stove Top
- Cover with lid, simmer on low heat (stir occasionally while adding to pan 2-3 cubes of butter every time) for 30-40 minutes, or until the meat is falling off the bone.
- Add carrots, peppers, mushrooms, and chili flakes in the pan. Allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in yuzu, lemon peel, basil, cilantro, green onion, and sun gold tomatoes. Garnish with bonito and breadcrumbs (optional).
- Ready to serve.
For the Oven
- Transfer covered pan to oven, preheated to 375°F, and cook for 50 minutes (stir every 10-15 min. adding butter to pan, 2-3 cubes of butter every time).
- Remove lid and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, adding carrots, peppers, mushrooms, chili flakes to pan.
- Make sure the chicken is tender and falling off the bone, then stir in yuzu, lemon peel, basil, cilantro, green onion, and sun gold tomatoes.
- Garnish with bonito and breadcrumbs (optional).
- Ready to serve.
