Three Cups Chicken (三杯鸡)

by wiffy on November 27, 2011

in Asian,Braising/Simmering,Claypot Recipes,Meat,Recipes

Three Cups Chicken, classic Taiwanese home-cooked dish

Note: This was first posted in Jan 2009, now updated with new photos and improved recipe.

Three Cups Chicken (三杯鸡) is a popular chicken dish in Taiwanese cuisine. The name is catchy and fancy – in layman terms, it is basically chicken simmered in the trio combination of sesame oil, soy sauce and Chinese wine. Despite being called “3 cups”, it does not necessary mean adding one cup each of the condiment – rather, equal parts (1:1:1) of each condiment depending on the amount of chicken you have. One cup of soy sauce and sesame oil, for example, is really too much if you are only cooking for two. For a meatless variation of the three cups chicken, check out my easy three cups mushrooms recipe.

Although equal parts is a general rule, one can be flexible and adjust the ingredients to your liking – for example I generally use lesser light soy sauce to reduce the saltiness, and more Chinese wine and sesame oil for more aroma. What makes this dish quintessentially Taiwanese style is that it is cooked entirely in a Chinese claypot, however you can still cook this either in a wok or other cookware you normally used if you do not have a claypot. Fresh sweet basil is also added at the end as a nice finishing touch to this homely dish.

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

- 450g chicken thighs, cut to small pieces (you can also use half chicken, chicken wings or drummettes)
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Suppose to be 1 1/2 tbsp based on 1:1:1 ratio, but I find that 1 tbsp is salty enough)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shao Hsing)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled & slightly bruised
- 6 slices ginger
- 2 stalks spring onions, cut to 5cm (2 inch) lengths
- 40ml water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- a handful of fresh sweet basil leaves

Directions
1. Heat sesame oil in claypot and add garlic cloves, ginger, the thick bottom white ends of the spring onions. Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken pieces and stir fry until the surface is no longer pink.
3. Sizzle Chinese wine and add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water and sugar. Stir evenly, and cover the lid to simmer for about 6 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the spring onions and continue simmering until the sauce is greatly reduced.
5. When the dish is cooked, stir in some fresh basil leaves before serving.

Cooking Note
1. Variations. You can add wolfberries (about 1/2 tbsp) and sliced chilli for additional colour and/or heat.
2. If you do not have a claypot, you can cook this dish in a wok or pan.

Related Article
- Claypot Cooking Care

Check out all claypot recipes.