Jerk Chicken and Dumplings

Easy, Moderate, Complex

YIELD: Serves 3 – 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 chicken legs and 3 wings
• 1 head of garlic peeled and roughly smashed
• 3-4 inch piece ginger, roughly sliced 8 cm)
• 1 big tablespoon favourite Jerk spice rub 25 g)
• 1/2 sweet red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 3 small fresh carrots, cut into thin strips
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• A good handful of cilantro
• 2 – 3 stalks of celery with leaves, thinly sliced lengthways
• Canola oil
• 2 limes
• 3/4 cup Jamaican Ginger Beer 185 ml)
• A good dash ground cinnamon
• A nub of butter
• 2-3 kaffir lime leaves
• For the Crunchy fried dumplings
  • 1 cup flour 110 g)
  • ½ cup cornmeal 60 g)
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder 10 g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda 5 g)
  • 1 teaspoon table salt 5 g)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar 15 g)
  • 2 tablespoon cold butter, cubed 25 g)
  • 1 ¼ cup milk 310 ml)
  • Oil for frying

Method

1. Cut the chicken legs into rough pieces – thighs, drumsticks, wings. Drop into a bowl.
2. Peel and rough chop garlic. Add to bowl.
3. Rough slice the ginger into long thin slices. No need to peel. Add to bowl.
4. Toss in the chicken and mix all together.
5. Add a good size tablespoon or two of your favourite jerk spice rub into the bowl and mix with hands to cover chicken really well.
6. Cover bowl and let rest in fridge overnight or for at least 2 hours.
7. Put a  large pan on high heat. Add a good layer of oil a little more than just coating the pan) . Place pan on high heat. When hot enough, add chicken. You should hear a sizzle as the meat hits the pan.
8. Leave them alone to brown for about 5-6 minutes on one side. Then gently flip them over and place pan in the oven to finish… about 10 more minutes of roasting, to make sure they are cooked through.
9. Julienne the vegetables and drop into a large mixing bowl.
10. When chicken comes out of oven, remove from pan and set aside.
11. Deglaze pan with ginger beer, and add the cinnamon and Kaffir lime leaves.  Let simmer for a couple of minutes and then add a nub of butter and stir in.
12. Toss the chicken with the vegetables and the juice of a lime. Plate up in a mound, drizzle the sauce over top and add a couple of lime wedges for garnish and place 2 or 3 fried dumplings on the side.
13. For the Crunchy fried dumplings
    • Mix dry ingredients together well Then work in the cold butter with your hands rubbing the butter bits into the flour, breaking them up and aiming for small pea size pieces. 
    • Add the milk to make a loose dough that will barely hold its shape without running off a spoon.  
    • Pour ½ -1 inch of vegetable oil into pan, heat till sizzling hot.  Drop by large spoonful into the pan and fry about 3 minutes per side, or until nicely browned but not too dark.  When you bite into it the crust should be crunchy but the inside soft and tender.

Serve warm beside the Jerk Chicken.