Michel Roux's Poussin Scented with Ginger and Lemongrass

Anyone who saw BBC1's Saturday Kitchen last week would have savoured the mouth-watering experience of watching Michel Roux cook this delicious dish. The co-founder of Le Gavroche mentioned that he is a huge fan of Vietnamese food - for which this was the inspiration - and has just opened a new restaurant called La Maison 1888 at the Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort. 
My version is a twist on his - not that I presume to be a better chef than the man who's restaurant The Waterside Inn became in 2010 the first restaurant outside France to hold three Michelin stars for more than 25 years. Not yet anyway.

I love using poussins instead of chicken - whether it is for roasting, pan-frying or making broth because they are so much sweeter and more tender. In fact the first meal I ever cooked for my wife was quick-roasted poussins stuffed with spinach, baby carrots and potatoes, with a creamy chantrelle sauce. As I said: sweet and tender.

I added coriander and chillies to spice up Michel Roux's lighter version, put carrots and celery to the steaming water to give the stock more flavour and used baby stem broccoli because it happened to be in the fridge. This is a meal for two.

Ingredients:
- 2 poussins, washed, trimmed and wishbone removed
- 4 sticks of lemongrass, sliced finely
- a large piece of ginger, sliced finely
- 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 
- a large handful of coriander, finely chopped
- a few dashes of sesame oil
- a carrot chopped in half
- a stick of celery, chopped in half
- 2 tbsp cornflour 
- 500g broccoli or baby stem broccoli
- 100g rocket leaves
- rice for 2 (steamed as per packet instructions)

Method:

Deep fry the rocket and drain on kitchen paper. Set to one side. I had to pop out to Tesco for this at the last minute but all they had was a pre-packed mix of rocket, spinach and watercress. It worked just as well though. Also I don't have a deep fryer so shallow frying works just as well although you need to do this in batches.

Stuff the cavities of the poussins with the lemongrass, ginger, chillies and half of the coriander. As I was also cooking for my baby boy, I just added the chillie as a garnish at the end. Boil a litre of water in the bottom section of a steamer with the carrots, celery, the rest of the coriander and a little bit of salt.

Place the poussins in the steamer dish on top of the water and steam on a moderate to high heat for 15 - 20 minutes.

When cooked, remove the poussins and carve off the legs and breasts, and set to a side. I put the breasts in the oven on low heat just to keep them warm. Cut where the leg joins the body to see whether the meat is cooked through or not.

Put the carcass back in the stock and simmer for another 10 minutes to give it a bit more flavour. For the last few minutes steam the broccoli on top, then remove. 

 
Pour the stock through a strainer into another pot and thicken with the cornflour. To avoid getting lumps, mix the cornflour in a small bowl of water to get a paste and pour this into the stock over heat slowly, stirring as you do. Add the sesame oil.

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the legs of the poussins, skin side down for a couple of minutes just to get them a bit crispy.

Pile the steamed rice in the middle of a large plate and arrange the poussin and broccoli over it.

Spoon the sauce over the breasts of the poussin and be sure not to pour any on the legs and you want them to remain crispy. 

Scatter the rocket loosely over the top and garnish with any chillie and coriander you may have left over. If you have any, toast some sesame seeds and sprinkle on top. Serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.