Three Cup Chicken 三杯鸡 Recipes

THREE CUP CHICKEN (SAN BEI JI, 三杯鸡)

Steps:

• Blanch chicken chunks in hot water then drain well.
• Heat up 2 tablespoons of sesame oil with ginger and garlic in a cold wok (or a deep frying pan) over a medium heat. Fry until the ginger becomes slightly brown.
• Stir in drained chicken. Fry for 1 minute or so.
• Add rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and rock sugar.
• Cover the wok with a lid (keep medium heat). Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Put in bell pepper and scallions, then cover and cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Uncover the wok and turn up the heat. Stir around until most of the liquid is evaporated and the chicken is coated evenly by the remaining sauce.
• Turn off the heat. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and basil leaves. Cover the wok for 1 minute.
• Dish out and serve with plain rice.

THREE CUP CHICKEN (三杯鸡)

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into pieces and rub them with the baking soda. Set aside for 10 minutes before rinsing the chicken off with water. Make sure the baking soda is completely rinsed off. Pat dry the chicken pieces and set aside. This is an optional step.
• Heat up a clay pot on high heat and add the sesame oil. Add the ginger, garlic, and stir-fry until aromatic. Add in the chicken and do a few quick stirs.
• Add the soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and continue to stir-fry the chicken. Cover the lid, lower the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
• Add the basil leaves and stir well with the chicken, dish out and serve immediately.

THREE CUP CHICKEN (SAN BEI JI)

Steps:

• Start by putting the sesame oil, vegetable oil, ginger, garlic, and red chili into your wok over medium heat. Let the aromatics infuse the oil for a couple minutes.
• Then turn up the heat to high, and add the chicken wings to the wok all in one layer. Sear the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Then add 1/4 cup warm water, ¼ cup Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce (2-5 teaspoons, depending on how dark you'd like the dish to be), 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Stir and cover the wok. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 15 minutes to cook the chicken through (cook for 20 minutes if you want the chicken to be more tender).
• Then remove the cover and turn up the heat to rapidly reduce the sauce for a few minutes until it clings to the chicken and gives it a rich, dark color. Make sure to stir the chicken during this process to prevent burning.
• Throw in your Thai basil and/or scallions and fry another minute until it's wilted. Serve!