Pretty Hate Machine is full of references to flesh. To sex. To guilt. To craving. To power, domination, and helplessness. I’m a carnivore, I love NIN, and I’m a conceptual food blogger. I couldn’t help myself. I had to smother chicken thighs in a spice blend inspired by incense, and create a dramatic black rice dish inspired by taboo desire. I also had to wrap a raw chicken up in chains, and photograph it to the tune of “Sin.”
You give me the reason
You give me control
I gave you my Purity
And my Purity you stole
Food and music nourish us. I came of age listening to NIN, and although The Downward Spiral was my first and remains my favorite NIN album, PHM was still a significant cornerstone to my early teen years. There’s a youthful naivete to PHM that never returned to NIN that makes the album special. Trent’s screaming tantrums, mean synths, and scathing insights punctuate a vulnerability so pure in its sincerity that its sweetness is on par with Linus lying heartbroken in a pumpkin patch trying to reconcile himself to the fact that The Great Pumpkin is not coming, and will never come. It is touching and tender to behold.
Music heals all the wounds, if only for a little while. It provides a place to rest, to feel, to be held in the embrace of someone else’s pain, rage, joy, or euphoria. A place to touch the parts of ourselves we don’t understand, and find release, via someone else’s expression of what we find inexpressible. This meal is my homage to all the nourishment Pretty Hate Machine has given me since it came into my life 26 years ago. May it inspire you to turn up your stereo, throw on PHM, and lose yourself in the joy of cooking while you make this feast.
RECIPE: PERSIAN-SPICED CHICKEN LEGS (IF I CAN’T HAVE EVERYTHING WELL THEN JUST GIVE ME A TASTE)
Chicken legs are rubbed down in a enticing Persian spice blend, but the romance is fleeting: they are quickly banished to the cold isolation of the refrigerator, haunted by the memory of all that could have been, as the spices seep into the flesh. Forbidden black rice is cooked in a sweaty bath of rosewater, cardamom, pink salt, raisins, and ghee, then showered with dried rose petals to finish. The chicken legs are roasted until swollen, golden, and crisp, and are so luscious that your first cut into the flesh will likely result in juices squirting across the room. It’s that perfect combination of sweet, salty, spicy, and plump, and the scents linger in the air long after the meal, like incense.
RECIPE NOTES
The magic of these chicken legs lies not only in the spice blend, but in the cooking method. To start, the legs are cooked at 350F while the fat renders out of the skin, flipped halfway through, and finished at 450F while they fry to a crisp, basted in their own fatty juices. My spice blend is based on “Advieh,” a Persian spice mix made with cumin, cloves, cinnamon, rose petals, black pepper, turmeric, and cardamom, but my blend is heavier on the cinnamon, cardamom, and turmeric, than the traditional version, and I use a lot more of the spice blend than would be called for in a traditional Persian recipe. While this move does sacrifice some of the poetic nuance Persian food is known for, it does result in a more aggressive flavor profile that feels suitable for NIN. The recipe calls for the chicken to marinate in the spice rub overnight, but if you don’t have time for that, it still turns out good, so don’t fret.
If you want to add some veggies, I recommend wilted chard. It balances the sweetness of the rice and lightens the saltiness of the chicken. Roasted cubes of butternut squash also make a nice compliment.
Prep time: 15 mins + 24 hrs
Cook time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken legs, bone in, skin on
3 tsp decorticated cardamom seeds
2 tsp dried culinary rose petals
5 tsp cinnamon
5 tsp fine pink salt
4 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp turmeric
3 tsp black pepper
½ tsp ground cloves
Opera length vinyl gloves (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the spice blend. Place the decorticated cardamom seeds and dried rose petals in a spice grinder and blitz, relishing the industrial noises. Pour into a container, add the cinnamon, salt, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and ground cloves, and stir with a fork to combine.
Put “Sin” on the stereo, don your opera length vinyl gloves, and humiliate the chicken legs in a golden shower of spices, pouring 8 tsp of the spice mixture over the inner thighs, outer thighs, and along the entire length of the drumsticks, rubbing it deep into the flesh. Continue rubbing all the way through “That’s What I Get.” The longer you rub, the better they taste.
Once the chicken has been adequately desecrated, asphyxiate it, sealing it in a plastic bag, then abandon it to the cold isolation of your refrigerator to marinate overnight. Occasionally open the refrigerator door and whisper disparaging things to the chicken.
When ready to cook, place oven rack at the top shelf of your oven, and preheat to 350F/180 C for 10 minutes.
Place chicken legs, inner thigh side up, in a large skillet or roasting pan (cast iron is best if you have one), and roast for 30 minutes.
Remove chicken legs and flip them over, inner thigh side down. Let them rest for 10 minutes while you raise the oven temperature to 450F/230C. Return to oven and roast for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until skin is crispy and golden. Remove from oven and allow chicken to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
RECIPE: FORBIDDEN BLACK CARDAMOM ROSE RICE
RECIPE NOTES
THE NAME. Why is it called “Forbidden Black Rice?” Discovered in China some 2000 years ago, legend says this darkly dramatic grain was forbidden to common people and reserved for royalty, as it was believed to increase longevity. It is now considered to be one of the healthiest varieties of rice, getting its signature color from a pigment called anthocyanin, which has potent antioxidant properties (Source: Healthline). It has more protein and fewer calories than any other variety of rice.
RINSE AND SOAK. Soaking and rinsing the rice well highlights its nutty flavor and chewy texture, so don’t skip this step. I make mine in an Instant Pot because I find that yields the best results. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I’ve also included instructions for making this on the stovetop, though I can’t guarantee the results will be as foolproof.
BONUS ROUND. Leftovers are delicious heated in coconut milk to make a breakfast porridge the next day. It pairs particularly nicely with mango.
INSTANT POT VERSION
Prep time: 5 mins, plus 1hr for soaking
Cook time: 25 minutes, plus natural pressure release
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup/237 mL forbidden black rice, rinsed and soaked for 1hr.
1 ½ cup/335 mL water, plus 1 tbsp
3 tbsp rosewater
1 tsp ghee
⅛ cup/30 mL raisins
½ tsp decorticated cardamom seeds, freshly ground
½ tsp fine pink salt
Dried culinary rose petals, to taste.
INSTRUCTIONS
Soak rice for 1 hour, then rinse repeatedly, until water runs clear.
Place rinsed rice, water, rosewater, ghee, raisins, cardamom, and pink salt in Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow entire cycle of natural pressure release, then fluff and serve, scattering with dried culinary rose petals.
STOVETOP VERSION
Prep time: 5 mins, plus 1hr for soaking
Cook time: 30-35 minutes
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup/237 mL forbidden black rice, rinsed and soaked for 1hr.
2 cups/473 mL water, plus 1 tbsp
3 tbsp rosewater
1 tsp Ghee
⅛ cup/30 mL raisins
½ tsp decorticated cardamom seeds, freshly ground
½ tsp fine pink salt
Dried culinary rose petals, to taste.
INSTRUCTIONS
Soak rice for 1 hour, then rinse repeatedly, until water runs clear.
Place rinsed rice, water, rosewater, ghee, raisins, cardamom, and pink salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30–35 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and sit for 5 minutes before removing lid. Fluff and serve, scattering with dried culinary rose petals.
P.S. Look how fun it is to label your leftovers for freezer storage.