Baked Nam Yee Chicken & Warm Salad

Preheat oven to 400ºF or 200ºC.

In a small bowl, mash nam yee with its pickling liquid, honey and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub mixture on each chicken drumstick until thoroughly coated.

Place onion discs on the base of your baking dish. Lay a chicken drumstick on each disc.

In a larger bowl, toss potatoes and garlic with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange them in and around chicken drumsticks. Sprinkle remaining salt over the potato halves. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender.

Drain drippings from the chicken into a bowl and leave the drumsticks to rest. If there is too much oil in the drippings, remove some. (I didn’t because salad dressing does require some oil.)

Mash some roasted garlic into the drippings and add in a few rings of roasted onion rings. Whisk lemon juice in. Taste to see if it requires more honey, etc. Stir in chopped olives. Pour dressing over a bowl of chopped lettuce and sliced red bell peppers.

Serve up chicken drumstick and potatoes in a platter alongside the salad.

Note: Nam yee is red fermented bean curd (in Chinese: 紅腐乳/南乳; pinyin: hóngfǔrǔ/nánrǔ). According to Wikipedia: “It incorporates red yeast rice (cultivated with Monascus purpureus) with the brining liquor for a deep-red color and distinctively thickened flavor and aroma. This variety may also contain chili. A popular derivative of this variety has an appearance of ketchup and is seasoned with rose essence, caramel and natural sugar.”