Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

5 from 6 votes

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

Recipe video above. This is a popular Taiwanese dish of chicken braised in a sweet-savoury soy sauce with lots of garlic and ginger. Great quick recipe that takes 10 minutes to cook, and it's got the sort of flavours that's a guaranteed hit with everyone - kids, grown ups, fussy eaters!

Called San Bei Ji in Taiwan, the name "Three Cup Chicken" is said to come from the ingredients in the sauce - 1 cup of each soy, rice wine and sesame oil. Actually, the ratios in the recipe aren't that far off! But these days you'll find recipes have refined the quantities for a more balanced flavour. :)

Serve with lots of rice. The chicken is strong flavoured, and so is the syrupy sauce (you won't need much).

Course: Main

Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese

Keyword: soy sauce chicken, Three Cup Chicken

Servings:

Calories: 272cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp plain oil - canola , vegetable, peanut
600g/1.2 lb chicken thighs , boneless, skinless, cut into 2.5cm/1" pieces (Note 1)
6 slices ginger , ~3mm / 1/8" thick (Note 2)
6 cloves garlic , minced (yes, lots!)
2 dried red chillies (barely noticeable spicy, but can omit, or sub 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes)
1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 cup lightly packed Thai basil leaves , substitute regular basil leaves or 2 green onion stems cut into 5cm/2" lengths (Note 3)

Sauce:

2 tbsp light soy , or all-purpose soy (Note 4)
2 tsp dark soy (Note 4)
2 tsp white sugar
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or Taiwanese rice wine (mijiu) if you can find it, or chicken stock/broth (Note 5)

For serving:

White rice

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:

Toast ginger and chilli 30 sec, seal chicken, adding garlic towards end. Add sauce, braise 4 - 5 min until syrupy, stir in sesame oil and basil leaves. Serve!
FULL RECIPE:

Sauce - Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Seal chicken - Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium low. Add the ginger and chillies, stir for 30 seconds. Turn heat up to high, add chicken and stir until the surface is changes from pink to white, but it's still raw inside. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.
Braise - Add sauce, making sure to scrape out all the sugar from the bowl. Stir, and once it starts bubbling, reduce the heat to medium high or medium so it's simmering fairly rapidly but not wildly - not too low else it will take ages to reduce, not too high else the sauce will reduce too quickly (if it does, add a splash of water). Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to stain each piece of chicken all over with colour, until the sauce reduces and changes from watery to a thin syrup.
Finish - Stir in the sesame oil, then the Thai Basil leaves until it wilts (~15 seconds). Serve over rice, making sure you use all the syrup in the pan! (It's intense, so you don't need much)

Notes

1. Chicken cut - I prefer thigh because it stays juicier, if using breast which is considerably leaner would simmer on medium high so the sauce reduces in about 3 minutes rather than 5 minutes, so the inside of the chicken won't overcook.

2. The ginger is traditionally sliced rather than minced so it gently perfumes the sauce as it braises, rather than ending up mixed through it. Just pick the slices out as you eat, or mince the ginger if you prefer.

3. Thai basil leaves - The traditional herb, with a distinctive aniseed flavour that really makes this dish. But don't let it stop you making it! I've made this with Italian basil and loved it. And if I had neither, I'd use green onion. Different, yes, but still delicious and totally worth making.

4. Soy sauces - Don't substitute the light soy with dark soy as it is much too intense. However, if you don't have dark soy, you can use more light soy but just be aware the chicken won't go the golden mahogany colour pictured.

5. Cooking wine brings depth of flavour into the sauce. Taiwanese rice wine (mijiu) would be the traditional choice if you can find it, otherwise Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) is the most common substitute. It would take an exceptional palette to tell the difference. :) For non alcoholic, use 1/4 cup chicken stock/broth, low sodium.

Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. It will freeze ok but it's much better made fresh.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings. Excludes rice.

Nutrition