Winter Comfort Food: Hung's Three-generation Sesame Oil Chicken Soup／冬日暖心首選─洪家三代麻油雞
Winter Comfort Food: Hung's Three-generation Sesame Oil Chicken Soup
◎English translation: Hou Ya-ting ◎Photos by quava
Sesame oil chicken soup is available across Taiwan and is an iconic winter comfort food for many Taiwanese. Yet, each chef has their own distinct version of the dish. Hung's Three-generation Sesame Oil Chicken Soup is a stall that is famous for its popular sesame oil chicken soup. Open from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, it is located in Zihciang Night Market (Wujia Shopping Area in Fongshan City).
By 7:00 p.m. the stall is crowded with customers and enticed by its steamy aromas. The hearty soup is thick, yet it is not overpowered by sesame oil. Its outstanding flavor is due to the generous amount of tender chicken drumsticks that are added to every dish. It is one of their most popular items and regular customers often come to get it as well as stir-fried pork kidneys for a take away. Popular side dishes include thread-noodles infused with sesame oil and sesame oil fried eggs.
The now chef and owner started working at Hung's Three-generation Sesame Oil Chicken Soup four years ago and was only a junior staffer at that time. She worked hard to master the technique of how to make the most perfect sesame oil chicken soup. When her former boss offered her the chance to run the stall, she took up the challenge. She continued to improve her recipes and soup broths and sought to include higher quality ingredients. One of her secrets to her popular soup is marinating ginseng in rice wine before it is fried in sesame oil and then later adds to the soup. She then adds ground Bay leaves and licorice powder while frying the chicken. Only chicken drumsticks are used for taste and texture.
One of the secrets to her success is her attention to detail and hard work. The chef meticulously prepares the ingredients by herself, fries the chicken and simmers the broth. Although the stall closes around 1:00 a.m., after work she heads to Fongnong Market to pick up the freshest ingredients for the next day.
Fortunately, the chef gets a lot of help from her family. She works long hours and finds it can be tiring running such a successful business. However, she is devoted to her cooking and feels her hard work is rewarded by the lines of customers that come every night to get her soup.
Sesame Oil Chicken Soup is especially delicious in the winter and a popular dish in Taiwanese cuisine. Hung's Three-generation Sesame Oil Chicken Soup stall in the Zihciang Night Market is popular with local customers and a great place to try this delectable comfort food.
冬日暖心首選─洪家三代麻油雞
◎文、攝影／quava
洪家三代麻油雞位於五甲自強夜市，下午四點半營業至晚上十二點。訪問當晚約七點抵達，攤頭亮著暈黃燈光，大湯鍋冒著白煙與陣陣香氣，攤前座位已滿，只得商借隔壁店家座位，不時有客人來外帶麻油雞或是麻油腰子。熱騰騰的麻油雞肉湯，黃澄澄的湯中擠滿雞腿肉，湯頭溫順甘醇，麻油香氣濃厚不油膩，喝完喉嚨不會「束」起來；雞腿肉鮮嫩多汁，不乾柴，份量又多，吃起來很滿足。喝湯同時搭配一碗麻油乾拌麵線與麻油煎蛋，是一大享受。
老闆娘表示，年輕時曾在餐廳工作過，也曾幫人打掃，四年前來到這間店上班，後來因緣際會把店接下來，一路打拚至今。在過程中不斷地改良，調整湯頭與食材，希望讓客人吃到更美味的餐點。店裡的雞肉只用雞腿肉，雖然成本較高，但是肉質佳，烹煮後不易乾澀，炒肉時更加入月桂粉與甘草粉，使麻油雞吃起來順喉不鎖喉；米酒浸泡過人參才使用，店內使用的豬油，也是向熟識麵攤購買的現榨豬油。
平常每天下午兩點半，她便會到店內準備，炒雞肉、熬高湯，再到鳳農市場採買食材等，忙碌到凌晨一點多收攤才回家。雞肉一天通常會炒二至三次，為避免肉質久煮後乾硬，炒好後會先盛起放置於大鍋中，客人點菜後再添加高湯即可食用。
店裡人手目前僅有老闆夫婦與弟媳，老闆娘當兵的兒子放假也會回來幫忙，老闆娘伸出紅通通的雙手說：「你看我的手，攏做到這樣，肩膀有時候也很痠痛。」雖然如此，客人一來，她的精神馬上就來了，臉上堆滿著笑容，俐落地準備餐點，從她的身上，可感受到女人的堅毅與樂觀。此外，店家與左鄰右舍感情和睦，他們自在地聊天，有時開開小玩笑，使得整個用餐氣氛都好了起來。冬日夜晚來到五甲夜市，吃碗麻油雞，用暖暖熱湯撫慰身心吧！
麻油雞自己動手做：
1.炒雞肉：先將薑片以麻油煸香→雞腿肉洗好放入→炒至四、五分熟後倒入米酒→調味（加入甘草粉、月桂粉、鹽、一匙糖與味精）→小火慢慢翻炒至八分熟→開大火，加入高湯，蓋上蓋子燜十分鐘後起鍋。
2.高湯：雞骨頭與白菜的菜頭熬製，水滾後將泡沫等雜質撈掉，再放入一些薑片繼續熬煮，這鍋湯再加入過濾後的炒雞肉湯汁，便成為麻油雞湯底了。