Sixteenth Century Orange Chicken

This recipe was adapted by me from a housewife's kitchen guide published in 1594! The sauce is slightly sweet, but very good.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
• 0.5 cup chicken stock
• 2 oranges, peeled and segmented
• 4 pitted prunes
• 4 pitted dates
• 0.5 cup dried currants
• 0.5 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 0.5 teaspoon ground mace
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 0.75 cup white wine

Steps

1. Place chicken stock in a large saucepan over high heat. Add oranges, prunes, dates, currants and cloves and boil until the fruit has broken down a bit, about 7 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in peppercorns, mace, sugar, rose water and wine; reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.
3. Brown chicken in a large skillet until lightly browned on both sides; add reserved sauce and cook together, turning and basting, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear, about 20 to 25 minutes.