Semur teagrass and fresh ginger chicken

This dish has a special cultural significance in the Torres Strait Islands – cooking semur chicken for a new romantic partner is a sign that your relationship is becoming serious! Relationship status notwithstanding, it also makes for a hearty dish, perfect for cold days.

Credit: Island Echoes

• serves

  5-6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp pepperberries
• ½ tsp dried saltbush flakes
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 4 teagrass stalks (see Note)
• 3 cm x 4 cm young ginger, sliced
• 150 g thin rice noodles
• 1 cup picked warrigal greens leaves
• ½ cup spring onion, roughly chopped
• 1 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• Steamed rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Joint the chicken by separating the breasts, wings, drumsticks and thighs into individual pieces, you should have 8 pieces of bone-on chicken.
2. Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of oil, then add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the chicken pieces (don’t crowd the pan!) and brown on all sides for 3-5 minutes (you may need to do this in batches).
3. Stir through the pepperberries, saltbush and soy sauce, turning the chicken to coat, for 3 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, then add the teagrass stalks and ginger to the pan. Bring the heat to medium to medium-high, then cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and falls off the bone.
4. Once the chicken is tender, place the rice noodles in a medium bowl, then pour over boiling water and allow to stand for 3 minutes. Drain in a fine mesh strainer, then transfer to the semur chicken with the warrigal greens and spring onion. Cook for a further 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.
5. Sprinkle the semur chicken with coriander, then serve with steamed rice on the side.

Note

• Teagrass is also known as Australian native lemongrass, or known by its scientific name, cymbopogon ambiguous.

Watch how to make this recipe on Island Echoes with Nornie Bero.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.