madbaker | Got a Romertopf, should use it.

This week's Resolution Recipe: Clay Pot Onion Chicken.

1 frying chicken, hacked into 2" square pieces
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I used a combination of soy and black vinegar)
3 Tbsp rice wine or sherry
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
2 onions, peeled
1 small head cabbage
4 green onions
4 Tbsp peanut oil
1 garlic clove, sliced thin (Ha! I used... more.)

Soak a clay cooker for 30 minutes.
Hack up the chicken. Mix the soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and five-spice; marinate the chicken for 15 minutes. Slice the onions and shred the cabbage coarsely (separately).

Heat a wok until quite hot and add the oil and garlic. Toss in the chicken, reserving the marinade. Stir-fry until well browned on all sides. Remove and stir-fry the onion until a bit brown and caramelized. Return the chicken along with any juice. Toss for a moment and remove from the heat.

Place the cabbage in the bottom of the clay cooker and top with chicken/onion mixture and remaining marinade. Cover and put in a cold oven. Heat oven to 325 and bake chicken for 90 minutes. Remove and top with sliced green onions. Serve over rice.

What worked: This was quite good. I was pleasantly surprised by how much liquid this generated - sometimes dishes in this have scorched, but between the marinade and liquid from the cabbage, it was swimming.

What didn't: I used one large onion instead of two medium and I should have used two. The spicing was not as emphatic as I prefer - I might marinate the chicken overnight. Because I used chicken legs, I merely hacked as I could and they weren't anywhere close to uniform. You want the skin and bone for flavor, though.

Will I make it again? It will go into the rotation and probably for a homeowners' meeting, yes.