Coq Au Vin
There would always be some dishes that can be intimidating to make. For me, that’s everything that’s classified as French. I would often pass it off, jokingly, around my struggle to pronounce the names of the dishes right. But in reality, that’s just a fraction of the challenge—it’s the sophistication of the ingredients and the complexity of the procedures that I find intimidating. That is, until one day, I decided to take a bold step and tried my hands on making coq au vin.
This one, at least, I tried my best to say right. Pronounced as kawk aw van, this dish is a chicken recipe stewed in red wine. It all started when I had leftover red wine after having some friends over. As leftover red wine is not something I enjoy drinking, and because I wasn’t feeling making sangria out of it, the next logical step was for me to cook with it. My tastebuds were longing for something different; hence, this dish.
My version of coq au vin uses large cuts of chicken thighs and legs, carrots, and the usual thyme and bay leaves for flavor. I add rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (not French, I know) because it’s a staple in my pantry and I want a different meaty texture in the dish—and gladly, its flavor blended well. For the wine, I followed the hard and fast rule as always: use what you would drink, and I encourage you to do the same.
I humbly admit that this does not stay faithful to the real thing, but I daresay my coq au vin is nonetheless delicious. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments!
Coq Au Vin
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 5 strips hickory smoked bacon chopped
- 1 medium-sized white onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large carrot cut into small cubes
- 4 chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumstricks
- 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Trim the excess skin and fat from the chicken. Wash, pat dry, and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms by soaking them in hot water. Cover and set aside.
- In a deep skillet, cook the bacon with the olive oil for about three minutes until brown on all sides and the fat has rendered.
- Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for two minutes until slightly translucent and fragrant.
- Add the carrots and sauté together with the bacon, onions and garlic for another two minutes.
- Make space for the chicken: Transfer the contents of the skillet onto a plate. Sear the chicken for about five minutes on each side.
- Transfer back the sautéed items into the skillet. Drain the mushrooms and add into the pan together with the wine, chicken stock, bay leaves and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced in half.
- Dissolve the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and stir into the dish. Simmer for 10 more minutes to let the sauce thicken and to cook off the raw flour taste of the cornstarch.
- Adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with pasta, crusty bread or my Roasted Garlic and Scallion Mashed Potatoes (recipe coming soon!)
As with many other food bloggers out there, I am no chef. I come with no culinary training whatsoever, and so it’s not at all surprising that my kitchen adventures are punctuated by frequent mishaps and blunders. Yet, there are recipes that I seem to make much better than others. And so, after years of prodding from family and friends, here I am, sharing the little that I know.
Why “gourmand,” you ask? Simply because I like making and eating good food. I can eat a lot, too—so there you go!