slow cooker chicken stew

If you like to cook stews, I would recommend that you use a slow cooker (also known as crockpot) to cook the stew. The advantage is that it is like "walk-away cookware" - you place all the ingredients in the slow cooker, switch on the slow cooker and the stew is ready to be eaten in a few hours. The alternative would be to stand next to the stove, stirring the simmering stew every now and then.

As slow cookers tend to have slow cooking process (hence its name), if you are using a big slow cooker, it would be advisable to start your cooking process in the morning so that the vegetables can be soft enough to be eaten at dinnertime. The chicken need not be added in the morning. What I usually do is to marinate the chicken in the morning and add the chicken to the slow cooker only in the early afternoon. Otherwise, if the chicken is cooked for too long, it would either break up into small pieces or become hard.

INGREDIENTS (serves 8 to 10 persons)

2 cans of chicken stock

2 pieces of hot dog

1 green capsicum

2 large potatoes

2 large carrots

2 large yellow onions

4 sticks of celery

1 can of button mushroom

1 pkt of cherry tomatoes

1 can of cut young corn

1 can of green peas

salt and pepper to taste

8 to 10 pieces of chicken (marinated with Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce and freshly grated black peppercorn)

3 tbsp corn flour mixed with some water (to thicken the stew)

METHOD

1. Marinate the chicken pieces in a bowl and leave it in the refrigerator for several hours.

2. Pour the chicken stock into the slow cooker and switch on the slow cooker. Set the dial at "AUTO".

3. Cut the other ingredients to desired size and place them in the slow cooker.

4. When the chicken has been marinated for about 3 to 4 hours, add them to the slow cooker.

5. When the vegetables have softened, add some salt and pepper to taste.

6. Thicken the stew with the corn flour and water mixture.

7. Let the stew cook for another 10 minutes before serving.

TIP

It would be advisable to cut the ingredients (including the chicken) into big pieces. If the pieces are too small, they tend to break up during the cooking process.