XO Soused - succulent healthful Soy Chicken

Soy chicken is Andrew’s favourite dish to cook and eat. And as a poached dish it sits apart from all the other roasted meats of the Chinese roasting kitchen. How does residual heat work to cook this chicken perfectly and how is this different from sous vide? How did Chinese chefs cook slowly at low temperatures in the past without technologies such as thermostats? How does this boost the dish’s health-giving qualities and what is the medicinal or flavouring function of the aromatics sealed in with the chicken as it gently cooks?

Andrew’s roast meat section [siu mei] in one of his kitchens. The soy chickens are cooked whole in residual heat in a solution of soy sauce, sugar and medicinal aromatics. The soy chickens hang with other - roasted - meats.

Intro and outro music: 遊子 [wanderer] by mafmadmaf.com