Chicken a la King
It’s Retro time! I remember Chicken a la King from my childhood in the 70’s. This of course was the 1970’s not the 1870’s for some like my children. It was a go to recipe for special occasions and although I have tried many versions this one is my favourite.
No shop bought sauce (and there are many pretenders to the throne) can come close to preparing it from scratch. With a few “busy mom” tweaks it doesn’t have to take long. You can save heaps of time by using left over roast chicken or purchasing a ready made rotisserie chicken. Simply break the pre-cooked chicken into into smaller pieces (just be sure to remove all the bones). Alternatively you can fillet some chicken breasts or buy some mini fillets from your supermarket. This version is a little healthier too because it does not contain any cream like some versions. As much as I love a cream sauce we all know what that means for our weight.
My curiosity got the better of me
I quickly searched Google which revealed many possible origins which surprised me. Far from being a 70’s classic this recipe is actually far older. Dates range from the 1890’s to the 1920’s and I found great names like Claridge’s and the Waldorf Astoria in New York popped up. I read on and the story which seems to be most popular is that it was created by Chef George Greenwald. He worked at the Brighton Beach Hotel in New York. It seems he created the recipe the late 1890’s or early 1900’s. Chef Greenwald prepared a special chicken dish for the owners, Mr and Mrs E Clark King II. From there it got its name Chicken a la King and was added to the menu. It goes without saying that it became a huge success.
Chicken a la King
Equipment
- Heavy bottomed saucepan
- Frying pan (if cooking chicken)
- Cup Measures
- Spoon Measures
- Small kitchen scale
- Chopping Board
- Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken
- 1 pt boiling water
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 1 green, yellow, orange or red pepper
- ½ cup mushrooms
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 oz butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 stock cube
- 2 tbsp sherry
- 1 tsp onion salt
- 4 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Blend in flour and seasoning.
- Dissolve stock cube in 1 pt of water and add gradually with evaporated milk, stirring carefully to avoid the mixture catching on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add cooked chicken, mushrooms, peppers and simmer for 10 mins or until cooked.
- Just before serving combine the egg yolk and the sherry and fold into the chicken mixture.
- Leave to stand for 3 mins and serve.
Notes
- Preparation time and cooking time depend in this recipe on whether you are using chicken leftovers or cooking your chicken from scratch.
- The recipe calls for 1 green pepper but you can mix it up by adding a combination of green, yellow, orange or red peppers.
- If you need to bulk the recipe up a bit more you can add more than the 2 cups of chicken the recipe calls for.
- You can serve this dish with rice or tagliatelle if you prefer.
- PS: Best enjoyed with a cold glass of Chardonnay!
If you’d like to see some of my other recipes please see the Recipes section on my blog for lots more tasty ideas.
