Stuffed Cornish Hen

created by @big38

Ingredients

Scale recipe

1.5lbcornish hen

1.5cupsticky rice

—Preserved daikon

—Chinese sauerkraut

—Chinese sausage

—Périgord truffle (optional)

Directions

Debone the entire chicken carcass. This will be a lot easier if you’re already familiar with cutting up the entire chicken. In a nut shell start from both ends of the chicken (head and butt), slowly carve out the middle portion. There’s plenty sources out there, but this video shows the whole process pretty well.

Wash the sticky rice until water runs clear. Soak rice in water for 1hr.

Partial cook the sticky rice by boiling for 12min (time’s measured from cold to simmer). Note: time varies depending on how long you plan to cook your subject.

Strain rice, let some of the steam escape. Mix in some oil and cover with plastic wrap until cooled to room temp.

Mix the rest of the ingredients then stuff into the chicken.

Tie up the chicken so it can be held whole and the rice not falling out.

Roast the chicken. I can’t really give you a time on this. This cornish hen was about 1.5lb and roasted at 350ºF 20min then 325ºF 40min.

Notes

This technique is traditionally adapted on duck, a Chinese dish called 八寶鴨. They usually fry the entire bird then steam the rest of the way. I try to avoid frying at home for health, convenience, and waste reasons. The idea here to make a roast version of the same dish. Delicious, healthy, and convenient. The purpose of partially cooking the rice is to give it enough moisture and a head start in the cooking process. During the roast, the rice inside will have enough moisture to steam itself. The result is glorious when you have everything perfectly lined up. Work backwards. Think about how long you need to cook the bird, then guesstimate how long the rice needs to pre-boil. Adjust and adapt. I usually like to add some sour notes to the rice, but you can add anything you want. Ignore my stu

Directions

Wash the sticky rice until water runs clear. Soak rice in water for 1hr.

Partial cook the sticky rice by boiling for 12min (time’s measured from cold to simmer). Note: time varies depending on how long you plan to cook your subject.

Strain rice, let some of the steam escape. Mix in some oil and cover with plastic wrap until cooled to room temp.

Mix the rest of the ingredients then stuff into the chicken.

Tie up the chicken so it can be held whole and the rice not falling out.

Roast the chicken. I can’t really give you a time on this. This cornish hen was about 1.5lb and roasted at 350ºF 20min then 325ºF 40min.