I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

July 23, 2013

Orange Hoisin Chicken Bake




I remember my first taste of Hoisin Sauce like it was yesterday......


My Mum was taking a Chinese Microwave cooking class- this was back in the early eighties when microwaves were the New Big Thing and ruled the kitchen- and she showed me a jar with a funny illegible label, full of sticky red goop. Standing in the corner near the pantry, she opened the lid and I was hit with a pungent beany smell. A spoon was offered and as I licked it this amazing sensation spread over my tongue...

It was a revelation

Tasting the sweet, earthy paste was one of the defining moments of my culinary career. Such a punch of flavour and so unlike anything else I'd tried before- it's stuck with me forever


Maybe that's why I love this particular meal. It's a great family dinner, but it's easy to dress up for visitors as well. Sweetness from the orange, lovely warming spices, and the punch of hoisin all cooked in the one pot, it's definitely a recipe for a win indeed- yummo!
I so wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I clipped it from the Australian Good Taste magazine May 2012. It went into the file as a simple recipe for littlej to practice her cooking- I certainly never expected it to be one of my favourite dishes right now instead




HoiSin Chicken Bake
serves 4-6

6 Chicken thighs cutlets or chicken thighs- skin on
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 cup gf Hoisin Sauce (I like Changs)
2 tabs gf soy sauce
2 tabs brown sugar
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
1Orange- 4 strips of peel, and the segments
2 Star Anise
gf Cornflour for thickening if needed
Sesame seeds for garnish

* Some of the photos in this recipe are terrible. I try to use natural light, but this time of year it's dark in my kitchen by 4pm. The flash just makes it shiny and worse- sorry!*



Brown the chicken in a small amount of oil until the skin is nice and crispy




Drain off the oil, then in the same pot place the stock, hoisin, spices, orange rind and sugar and heat until the sugar and hoisin melts into the liquid




Place the chicken back into the pan and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Cover and bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes at 150*




Take the lid off the chicken, then let it crisp up a little and get a nice colour by baking for another fifteen minutes or so




If the sauce still seems a little thin, stir through a little cornflour slurry until it's juust right and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Stir though the orange segments and sprinkle the chicken pieces with sesame seeds for a bit of extra flavour and texture




For my family dinner I served up the chicken with a big wok full of crunchy stir fried veggies with a touch of garlic and chilli, and some perfect steamed rice. For guests, I would steam some bok choy and baby broccolini or other asian style greens- just to look a bit more elegant, and of course still a big pot of gorgeous steamed rice



You could use chicken thigh fillets for this dish if you like, but cooking on the bone adds so much flavour and helps hold the meat together during the long cooking process. Thigh pieces would work as well, but I think they're messy and not as nice to eat


So very yummy, slightly sweet but still OK. The punch from the hoisin is definitely there, though tempered a little in the braising process instead of being heavily caramelised or lacquered on. Make sure you spoon on plenty of the sauce for the rice to soak up and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy as much as I do!



So Dear Readers, is there one food memory that sticks with you or that has changed your culinary thinking?




25 comments:

  1. Having lived in Singapore at such a young age I think has affected my food tastes, I really only like asian food, cant get enough of it. This dish would go down a treat.

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    1. My favourites are SE Asian flavours too, so yummy indeed!

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  2. Hahaha I remember when my mum attended those microwave classes too! We had so many roasts chicken.. so good... sigh.. childhood memory foods are the best!

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    1. Our mums were cutting edge trendy Msihua! My mum did a great roast lamb... Delicious!

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    2. My mother did them too (small world) and the dishes that stick out in my mind were the smoked cod with parsley sauce and the microwave chicken that was painted with soy sauce to get that lovely baked look :)

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  3. oooooh what a fabulous flavour combo! I'm a sucker for anything with orange peel! I'm going to try this sauce with some pork ribs I have in the fridge :)

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    1. Now that will be absolutely awesome indeed, great idea! It would be good with duck too- all the rich sweet meats, yummo!

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  4. That looks really good and I like the use of orange! And I remember having a microwave cookbook called "Microwave Miracles"! The cheesecake was my favourite :D

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    1. Mum made a mean carrot cake in the microwave too, but a cheese cake would be fantastic Lorraine! I've heard of cooking a pavlova meringue in the microwave but never seen it- maybe it's in your cookbook? :) x

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  5. Awww how lovely, I so distinctly remember when I had my first taste of plum sauce at my grandmother's house. I was like woah!!! You're right, liek nothing id ever had before. Great recipe :)
    Heidi xo

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    1. Isn't it exciting trying something so totally new and delicious for the first time Heidi? I bet your grandmother loved introducing you to a new flavour too :)

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  6. Thanks for the great recipe, Bec. I'll definitely cook this. Photography at this time of the year is such a challenge, isn't it. You have to cook very early to get that natural light shot! xx

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    1. That's great Charlie, I hope your lot likes it as much as mine! The light sure is tricky, all my photos go orange :( xox

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  7. Beautiful healthy food, Bec! And I think your photos look fine - although I think I recognise that pretty fabric behind the bottom one! :)

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    1. Why thankyou indeed Celia, though a new camera would be most welcome. I keep my little point-n-shoot for now as it's so light for my wrists. I know that's a hint to update my wardrobe..I mean back drops... when my dear regulars start recognizing them :) What a great excuse to go shopping! :) xox

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  8. Mmmmmm, hoisin sauce! I like it a lot, but unfortunately I haven't found a gluten-free one yet, and most of them are stuffed with MSG. :(

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    1. What a shame you can't get the Changs brand Kath, gluten free and no MSG either! I hope you find a brand that works for you locally :)

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  9. Great opening story, Bec. Chicken and orange go so well together!

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    1. Thanks Lizzy! They are a perfect match aren't they :)

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  10. This is a GREAT recipe, Intolerant Chef. And it's so sweet that this dish takes you back to that moment in time when you had your first experience with your mum. Recipes that remind you of a time with your loved ones are the best. I absolutely love hoisin sauce too, there really is nth like it. The orange sounds FANTASTIC with this I never thought of cooking them together. Thanks for sharing! =D

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    1. Thanks Winston, food and memories go hand in hand don't they? Orange and hoisin are an amazing match indeed :)

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  11. Oh this looks so good!!! Just full of flavour and tummy warming goodness! What a great recipe, I know all my family would live this dish!

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    1. Thanks Julie! It's a real family favourite at our house for sure :)

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  12. everything about this dish reached out to me! I knew, however, that it would be too sweet for me and so I added 2 crushed cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon of chilli paste. the results was heavenly! Thanks so much for adding this to my repertoire.

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed it Sue! The garlic and chilli would be great indeed :)

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