Air-fried chicken with chestnuts and onion on rice
Marinated chicken thigh air-fried with chestnuts and onion until golden and caramelised — savoury and fragrant, warming and good for the circulation on a cold winter's day.
- 40 min
- Serves 2
- Air-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: The cold of Major Snow congeals, and in a Blood-Stasis constitution blood slows even more when chilled, bringing cold hands and feet, aching joints and period pain. Onion is pungent and warm and moves qi and blood, chestnuts support the kidneys and sinews and invigorate blood, and chicken warms the middle. Air-fried with little oil, it is quick and warming — a top winter choice.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min- 1Marinate the chicken with the soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, pepper and honey for 20 minutes. Cut the onion into wedges.
- 2Preheat the air fryer to 180°C. Put in the chicken skin-side up with the chestnuts and onion around it, and brush with a little oil.
- 3Cook for 12 minutes, turn the pieces, spoon over the remaining marinade and cook for 8 to 10 minutes more until golden and cooked through.
- 4Spoon over hot rice with the juices and serve.
Cautions
- Chestnuts can cause bloating, so don't overdo them, and chew well if your digestion is weak.
Chef's tips
- Ready-to-eat roasted chestnuts from the supermarket save all the peeling.
The TCM view
Chicken is sweet and warm, warming the middle, boosting qi and replenishing deficiency. Chestnut is sweet and warm, supporting the kidneys and sinews, strengthening the spleen and invigorating blood; onion is pungent and warm, regulating qi, settling the stomach and dispersing stasis, and garlic moves stagnation and dispels cold. Together they warm the channels, dispel cold and move qi and blood — suited to Blood Stasis in winter.
