Mahogany Chicken Legs

The windows of Chinese delicatessens are crowded with glistening mahogany chickens, which look like they have been roasted in a hot oven but were actually slowly braised in soy sauce and spices. This ancient technique, known as red cooking, is mostly used with chicken and pork. The result is exceptionally moist meat that is falling-off-the-bone tender and saturated with flavor. Fortunately, red cooking is also a natural for a slow cooker. Red cooking depends on two types of soy sauce—the re