This is absolutely one of my fallback dishes for entertaining families when I don't know how finicky the kids' palates are. My kids usually eat the grown-up version but occasionally one of them has a relapse of sorts and declares the sauce (which he loved the week prior) to be unfit for human consumption. Suddenly the simplified version of chicken breasts and rice or potatoes with no sauce is all he will touch. This is exactly the kind of flexible option that doesn't make the cook (aka you) nuts and vaguely irritated since you will make one dish, just one, that allows the blander eaters to enjoy the meal without rendering the adults bored out of their skulls.
From Salads: Beyond the Bowl by Mindy Fox (Kyle Books; 2012). Reprinted with permission.
It's a pleasure to sink your fork into during brunch, lunch, or dinner.
The traditional recipe for this chicken was made by heating rock salt in a wok, then burying the chicken in the hot salt and cooking on the stove, as most homes in China did not have ovens. The modern convenience of having an oven makes it much easier to control the cooking temperature. Oven-roasting produces a skin that is crisp, golden brown, and mellow in flavor, with exceptionally juicy and flavorful meat. Mei Kuei Lu Chiew tastes a little like grappa. It’s hard to believe 2 tablespoons makes much of a difference, but the liquor contributes fragrance and sweetness to the chicken. If unavailable, grappa and vodka are adequate substitutes.