Lentil-Chicken Stew

The key ingredient is fresh thyme . Yes, please throw away any dried thyme in your kitchen. No amount of dried thyme could measure up to fresh thyme or save your soul. This is a message to my colleague, Bk who is a huge fan of dried oregano. Time to switch to fresh herbs, my friend.

Ingredients
one whole chicken, baby carrots, red skin potatoes, a can of lentils, shitake mushrooms, french beans, fresh thyme, chicken broth, salt, grounded peppper, sherry wine, garlic, onions, butter

Drums rolling--
Wash the chicken, cut them into pieces. Marinate the chicken with abit of fresh thyme, salt and sherry wine. Put them aside as you prepare the rest of the ingredients; cut all the vegetables into chunky pieces.

Sauté the onions and garlic (until slightly golden brown)
Add the chicken pieces and more fresh thyme.
Please make sure you have a big enough pot. Thanks to my mom's collection, she has a pot which I believe 2 human heads could fit in.

While the chicken pieces are getting cooked, add the chicken broth (about 4 cups, I'm terrible at measurement. I've probably inherited the flaky measurement standard from my nanny)

Leave the chicken broth to boil, then add the rest of the vegetables and the lentils. Don't forget the sherry wine (about 2 table spoons) Lastly, salt and grounded pepper to taste.

Special note: To have the creamy texture-- add a bit of butter (recommended size of the butter: you can find on an airplane) before serve. If the stew is too watery, do add some corn flour mixed with water if necessary.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 2 hours.
Best time to serve: the very next day with pine nuts/garlic couscous.

Verdict-- I have inspired my colleague, WC who would like to learn how to cook the dish, and another colleague, BK who kept asking me about the recipe. The rest of the subbie (my colleagues) seemed to love it. Well, truthfully, stew is a no brainer dish. It's all about cooking time. Nevertheless, stew is always a comfort food for me.