This is a very pungent Taiwanese easy chicken dish. Traditional Three Cup Chicken is spicy, but if you have children or guests who can’t take the heat, you can forgo the chilies.
Three Cup Chicken
Course: DinnerCuisine: Taiwanese, ChineseDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes20
minutes35
minutesThree cup chicken is named this way because of the relatively equal ratio of three ingredients: sesame oil, shaoxing rice wine, and soy sauce.
Ingredients
8 pieces 8 8 pieces of bone-in chicken (legs and/or thighs)
3/4 cup 3/4 3/4 cup sesame oil
6 slices 6 6 slices of ginger
15 cloves 15 15 cloves of garlic
4 stalks 4 4 stalks of scallions cut into 2 inch sections
2 whole 2 2 small fresh red chilies halved (optional)
1 cup 1 1 cup Shaoxing rice wine
1 cup 1 1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons 2 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups 2 1 cup of Thai basil leaves (can substitute Italian basil)
Directions
- Heat sesame oil in wok at medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, scallions, and chilies and sautee for a minute to bring out the flavor of the aromatics.
- Cut thighs in half. Add chicken legs and thighs to wok browning the chicken on all sides.
- Once chicken is browned on the outside, add the rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes.
- When chicken is done, add basil. Mix gently and serve with white rice.
