When I was a kid, coming home from school to the aromas of cinnamon, star anise and ginger meant that we would have pho for dinner. Score! I’d throw my backpack on the couch and run to the kitchen to watch my grandfather char onions halves and ginger over the open flame of a burner until they turned black. He’d let me add them into the pot when they had cooled a bit.

When I got older and moved out of the house, I took those scents along with me. Nowadays, it seems I can’t make a stock or broth without using those ingredients to flavor them. There’s always a little Vietnamese inspiration in even the most American soups I serve, like split pea or even this chicken and rice soup. It’s good for any occasion, even an elegant one, if you know how to plate it. I’ll explain.

Say you’ve made this soup and you’re eating it out of a mug, only later you realize that you need something more elegant. In other words, something to help you apologize to your boyfriend after you’ve had a fight. Well, you can turn this soup from homey to handsome with just a few tricks. Pack the rice into a small ramekin to mold it into a circular shape, then overturn the ramekin onto a shallow bowl. You’ll have a neat little rice mound where you can artfully arrange the shredded chicken and parsley. And here’s the kicker: If you’re really in the doghouse with your boyfriend, you pour the hot chicken broth into the bowls at tableside. Now that’s service that says “I’m sorry.”

(Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe.”)

For the stock, you’ll start with a huge pot and 6 quarts of water, but you’ll reduce the liquid to less than half of that to concentrate the broth’s flavors. You may only need a smidge of salt at the end, but sometimes I find that I don’t need any at all. Finish with some lime juice to perk it up a bit.

VIETNAMESE-INSPIRED CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 4 pounds chicken bones (carcasses, or necks, backs, wings, etc.)
• 2 medium onions, cut in half
• 1 4-inch piece of ginger
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 6 quarts water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Lime juice, to taste
• 2 cups wild rice
• Shredded chicken from carcass, or 2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken bones in a roasting pan. When oven comes to temperature, roast bones for 1 hour, or until thoroughly browned. Remove from pan and place in a 10-12 quart stock pot.
2. Place onion halves (peels removed) over the open flame of a gas burner. Use tongs to turn onions when needed. When onions are blackened, place in stock pot. Repeat method with ginger, but cut ginger into 1-inch pieces before placing in pot. Add carrots and celery to pot.
3. Make a sachet of spices: Pile star anise, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves and garlic in a cheesecloth, and tie with kitchen string to make a little pouch. Add pouch to pot, as well as cinnamon sticks.
4. Fill pot with 6 quarts of cold water, making sure to cover all ingredients (add more if you need to). Bring pot to a boil and immediately turn heat down to medium-low. Let the pot simmer with the lid slightly ajar for 4 hours. Refrain from stirring here, so that you’ll end up with a clear broth.
5. Remove all bones, veggies and spices from pot. Turn heat up to medium-high, and reduce to about half of its current amount. Taste, and add salt if needed. When broth is full-bodied and flavorful (and this depends on personal preference), remove from heat and cool. Add a healthy sprinkle of lime juice, if desired.
6. When ready to serve soup, portion cooked rice into 6 to 8 servings. Pack each serving into a ramekin to mold it into a circular shape. Overturn the ramekin onto a shallow bowl. Arrange the shredded chicken and parsley over rice. Pour hot broth over rice tableside and eat up.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

I know we’re truly in the thick of winter when I bust out the papillote recipes left and right. The season and the dish remind me of each other: both bursting with warmth and comfort on the inside, like what I would imagine a family home with central heating and a fireplace would feel like. Since my apartment doesn’t have either of those, I cook en papillote to give me that same feeling of perceived warmth, and for the most part, it’s achieved, albeit on a much smaller scale. My toes are still frozen and I’m a blanket mummy, but my stomach is a happy camper, as warm as can be.

Papillote is a one-shot dish in which you place raw ingredients on a sheet of parchment paper, wrap them up like a parcel and cook the whole thing in the oven. The parchment essentially steams everything into a vibrantly flavored meal, trapping in all the aromas and juices that would have otherwise escaped in baking or sauteeing.

And perhaps what I love most about the cooking method is that it’s almost wrong how good the dish is, considering that it doesn’t adhere to the age-old notion of “the tougher the job, the greater the reward.” It’s quite the opposite — the result is exponentially greater than the minimal effort going into it. Conclusion? George Allen has probably never had the pleasure of cooking en papillote.

Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for two papillote recipes.

Cook’s note: In both recipes, the chicken can be substituted for any white fish, like halibut or tilapia. If using fish, note that it will be done at 140 to 145 degrees. I recommend testing with a thermometer to be sure.

CHICKEN EN PAPILLOTE WITH BASIL AND CHERRY TOMATOES

• Yield: 1 serving
• 1 boneless chicken breast (with or without skin)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 4 to 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 leaves basil, chiffonade
• Garnish: fresh basil chiffonade

Equipment needed: parchment paper, kitchen twine, rimmed cookie sheet

• Procedure:
• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• 2. Salt and pepper chicken and place on parchment sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
• 3. Add onion, garlic, white wine, cherry tomatoes and basil. Wrap parchment tightly around contents and secure into a package with kitchen twine. Place on cookie sheet.
• 4. Place in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until thermometer inserted into chicken reads 165 degrees. Unwrap package and serve hot, with a garnish of fresh basil chiffonade.

CHILI-LIME CHICKEN EN PAPILLOTE

• Yield: 1 serving
• 1 boneless chicken breast (with or without skin)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lime
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 carrot, cut into large chunks
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• Garnish: Chopped parsley

Equipment needed: Parchment paper, kitchen twine, cookie sheet with rim

• Procedure:
• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• 2. Cut a few thin slices of lime, and place on sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika and cayenne pepper over chicken breast. Place chicken over lime slices and squeeze juice from the rest of the lime over chicken. Drizzle with olive oil.
• 3. Throw in onion, celery, garlic, carrots, and white wine. Tightly twist parchment paper into a package and tie with kitchen twine. Place on cookie sheet and place in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until thermometer inserted into chicken reads 165 degrees. Unwrap package and serve hot.

– Cynthia Furey