Frying the chicken skin adds a lot of flavor to the soup, and once it gets crisp, it delivers lots of texture (chicken skin potato chip, if you will). Not into the skin? Fry it for the flavor, then discard. Also, you know the rule about fish sauce, right? Don’t smell it, just use it. Trust.
Notes
Use whole-wheat, country loaf, or sourdough bread, crusts removed, for optimal breadcrumbs for this chicken stew recipe. Useful comments: Fried bread here is an awesome topper. Feel free to double that portion of the recipe, because you'll snack on those bad boys endlessly. Sorry for saying "bad boys". The fresh parsley at the end is vital. I added some breast meat to get four good servings plus seconds.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil - divided
- 1 rotisserie chicken - leg and thigh meat shredded, skin reserved
- 1 medium red onion - chopped
- 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans - rinsed, drained
- ½ cup dried sour cherries
- ½ cup parsley leaves with tender stems - divided
- 4 slices whole-wheat bread - crusts removed, torn into small pieces
Instructions
Fry chicken skin
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high.
- Cook chicken skin, occasionally scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the skin and move things around, until the skin is brown and the edges are crisp, 3–5 minutes.
- Transfer the skin to paper towels.
- When cool enough to handle, crumble with your hands, then try not to eat it all; set aside.
Sauté the aromatics
- Add onion to the pan and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the onions are tender and just beginning to caramelize, 5–7 minutes. As the onion cooks, it will release moisture, which will help the brown bits dissolve and loosen—think of these as little flavor bombs.
- Add chili powder and sambal oelek and cook, stirring to coat the onions, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Finish the stew
- Add fish sauce and 4 cups of water; season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the flavors have melded, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken meat, beans, and cherries and continue to cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in ¼ cup parsley; season with salt and pepper.
Fry the bread crumbs & serve
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining ¼ cup oil in a medium skillet over medium-high.
- Toast the bread, tossing frequently, until crumbs are golden brown and crisp, 5–6 minutes.
- Transfer to paper towels; season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer breadcrumbs to a plate and toss with the remaining ¼ cup parsley.
- Divide stew among bowls, then top with reserved crumbled skin and breadcrumbs.