Three Cup Chicken

Three-Cup Chicken is a common dish served at Taiwanese beer houses, which usually open late and don’t close until dawn. Because most Taiwanese people don’t like to drink without having something to eat, beer houses are popular gathering places where you can get cheap and delicious xiah jio tsai, which are stir-fried dishes that go well with beer. But Three-Cup Chicken isn’t just a popular dish at the beer house. It’s also a common home-cooked staple. This week I’d like to share with you my own recipe for the yummy, spicy, gingery chicken dish.

You will Need:

Ingredients:

Serves 4 people

2½ lbs. chicken thighs
2-inch chunks ginger (about 2 Tbsp.), sliced
8 cloves garlic, sliced
4 hot peppers, sliced
2 scallions, cut in half
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1⁄3 cup cooking wine
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. sesame oil
2½ tsp. raw sugar
big handful of fresh Thai basil

Directions:

Roughly cut up all the chicken thighs. In a large cast iron skillet bring 1/2 Tbsp up to high heat. Sear the chicken thighs for two minutes until it's coated in golden brown and set it aside. Cast iron skillet is obviously not a traditional Chinese kitchen ware but it's a great tool that I've adapted from Maine cooking.  

Now in a separate large wok or a nonstick skillet on medium high heat, toss in the remaining ½ Tbsp. vegetable oil, scallions, hot peppers, garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds to one minute until you can smell the spicy aroma in the air. De-glaze the pan with the cooking wine and place the chicken thighs in the wok along with the sesame oil, soy sauce and raw sugar. Three-Cup Chicken got its name because traditionally it calls for the same quantity of cooking wine, sesame oil and soy sauce. But I’ve found that sometimes the sesame oil can be overpowering, and it can also end up a little too salty.

Cook it until all the liquid has been cooked down, which will take you about 10 to 12 minutes. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the heat and throw in a big handful of fresh basil. Cover it up and allow the basil to infuse in the chicken for 1 minute. If you can’t find Thai basil, regular basil will do as well.

 Serve it with a bowl of rice or a glass of beer and enjoy this delicious chicken dish!