Stewed Chicken Legs [滷雞腿]

Directions [做法]

1. Add all ingredients into a large pot. The broth should cover the chicken legs.

2. Bring to a boil in a pot.

3. Adjust heat to low and simmer for 35 minutes with lid on, turning the legs halfway through.

4.  Tastes even more flavorful if you let the dish marinate in the refrigerator overnight. 

1. 把所有材料放在一個大鍋子。

2. 煮滾。

3. 熱量調低，蓋上蓋子燉 35 分鐘，中途轉動腿。

4. 如果將這道菜在冰箱中醃製一夜，味道會更好。

Personal Connection [我與菜的個人聯繫]

Stewed chicken legs is a classic comfort dish for me. It's a dish that I ate throughout my life at home, casual style restaurants in Taiwan, and even the convenience stores in Taiwan. It's ubiquitous throughout my life and probably for many Taiwanese and Taiwanese-Americans. From my experience, stewed chicken legs are often put in bento boxes in Taiwan, which means it's often eaten as takeaway food and convenient for travelers. Whenever I eat stewed chicken legs, I am reminded of the times I eat bento boxes on the Taiwan high speed rail trains. 

The taste of stewed chicken legs can vary a lot depending on whether certain Chinese herbs are added, but across all variations, soy sauce and sugar make up the base flavor. I love the combination of soy sauce and sugar, so stewed chicken legs, regardless of the variations, are all pretty tasty for me. A nice feature of stewed chicken legs is that it's very easy to separate into portions since each leg represents a discrete unit. This is very helpful for meal prep. 

滷雞腿對我來說是一道經典的安慰菜。 這是我一生在家裡，在台灣的休閒餐廳，甚至在台灣的便利店都吃過的一道菜。 它在我的生活中無處不在，可能對許多台灣人和台灣裔美國人來說也是如此。 根據我的經驗，燉雞腿在台灣經常被放在便當盒裡，這意味著它經常作為外賣食品食用，方便旅行者。 每次吃燉雞腿，都會想起在台灣高鐵上吃便當的情景。

滷雞腿的味道會因是否添加某些香料而有很大差異，但在所有變化中，醬油和糖構成了基本風味。 我喜歡醬油和糖的組合，所以燉雞腿，不管變化如何，對我來說都很好吃。 燉雞腿的一個很好的特點是它很容易分成幾部分，因為每條腿代表一個獨立的單元。 這對準備便當很有幫助。