Three-Cup Chicken
Taiwan's three-cup chicken: bone-in thigh simmered in a cup each of soy, sesame oil and rice wine with garlic and ginger, finished with Thai basil.
Overview
Bone-in chicken thigh is browned in toasted sesame oil with sliced ginger and whole garlic cloves until the aromatics are gold. Equal parts soy, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine reduce around the chicken with rock sugar and dried chilli until the sauce becomes a glossy, sticky glaze. A huge handful of Thai holy basil goes in at the very end and wilts in the residual heat. Rice on the side is non-negotiable.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 800 g bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh, chopped through the bone into 4 cm pieces (ask your butcher, or use boneless thigh as a substitute)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Aromatics
- 4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (dark, not light)
- 6 cm fresh ginger (sliced into thick coins)
- 10 garlic cloves (whole, peeled)
- 3 dried red chillies (or 1 fresh red chilli, sliced)
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rock sugar (or 2 teaspoons soft brown sugar)
- 100 ml water
To finish
- 30 g Thai holy basil (a very large handful, stems removed; Italian or Greek basil if unobtainable)
- Steamed jasmine rice (to serve)
Method
Stage 1 - Prep
- Pat the chicken pieces dry with kitchen paper. Season lightly with white pepper.
- Have all aromatics and sauce ingredients measured and to hand - the cook is fast once it starts.
Stage 2 - Fry the aromatics
- Heat the sesame oil in a wok or heavy casserole over medium heat. The oil should shimmer but not smoke; sesame oil burns easily.
- Add the ginger coins and fry 2-3 minutes until the edges curl and turn deep gold.
- Add the whole garlic cloves and dried chillies; fry 2 minutes until the garlic is light brown.
Stage 3 - Brown the chicken
- Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, in a single layer.
- Brown 4-5 minutes without moving, then turn and brown the other side 3 minutes. The pieces should have golden colour all over.
Stage 4 - Reduce the sauce
- Pour in the Shaoxing wine; let it bubble hard for 30 seconds.
- Add both soy sauces, the rock sugar and the water. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a brisk simmer. Cover and cook 12 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Uncover and turn the heat up. Cook another 6-8 minutes, stirring more often, until the sauce reduces to a thick glossy glaze that coats the chicken like lacquer. The pan should be almost dry at the bottom; the chicken should be sticky and dark.
Stage 5 - The basil finish
- Off the heat, throw in the Thai basil all at once.
- Toss vigorously for 20-30 seconds - the basil should wilt in the residual heat but stay vivid green.
- Tip straight onto a warm platter or into a small clay pot.
- Serve at once with steamed jasmine rice.
Notes
- Toasted sesame oil, not light: Dark roasted sesame oil is the foundation of this dish. The pale, untoasted kind won't deliver the nutty backbone. Watch the heat; it burns quickly.
- Thai holy basil is best: Holy basil (krapow / horapha) has a peppery, almost clove-like edge. Italian or Greek basil works at a pinch but the result is sweeter and less authentic.
- Whole garlic cloves: Don't chop them. After the long simmer they go soft and sweet and become little sauce-bombs in the dish.
- Bone-in chicken: The marrow and skin give the sauce body. Boneless thigh works but the result is leaner and less rich. Avoid chicken breast.
- Reduce hard at the end: The sauce must coat, not pool. If liquid still pools, keep going on high heat.
Variations
Three-cup mushroom: Replace chicken with 600 g mixed king oyster and shiitake mushrooms, halved. Reduce cook time to 12-15 minutes total. Three-cup squid: A coastal variation - quick-fry cleaned squid tubes in place of chicken; total cook 6-8 minutes only or the squid turns rubbery.
Serving
Serve with: steamed jasmine rice, a simple stir-fried green like garlic water spinach, and a cold beer. Garnish with: extra Thai basil leaves scattered on top.
Storage
- Best eaten the day it's made; the basil dulls.
- Sauce and chicken (without basil) keep 3 days refrigerated and reheat well; throw in fresh basil at serving.
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