Three Cup Chicken (三杯鸡)

Looking for something different when it comes to making chicken for dinner? Then you should definitely make three cup chicken. It’s a famous Taiwanese dish that has a heavenly aroma and an even more mouthwatering flavor.

Traditionally, three cup chicken is made with an entire chicken, carved-up, bone-in, and skin-on. It’s braised in a sweet and savory broth until it gets a nice, sticky glaze. Then, fresh basil is added for the finishing touch. I’ve found a way to preserve this authentic flavor while using a simpler cut of chicken – the wings – to recreate it for any night of the week. 

What is three up chicken

Why is it called three cup chicken? That’s because three of the main ingredients were 1-cup in measurement. Traditionally, there was one cup of soy sauce, one cup of Shaoxing wine, and 1 cup of oil all used to braise the three cup chicken. The modern approach uses basil to provide a divine way to elevate the aroma of this dish for a more fragrant experience. 

My recipe uses the modern approach. This will taste just like a dish from the best Chinese restaurant around and the aroma will have you swooning as it cooks.

Ingredients

Believe it or not, three cup chicken uses less than ten ingredients, most of which you should have in your pantry already. Your table should look like the picture below when you’re ready to cook.

Cooking process

1. Slowly cook the ginger until caramelized
2. Cook the garlic and chili peppers
3. Brown the chicken
4. Add the sauce and braise
5. Occasionally turn the chicken to make sure it cooks evenly in the sauce
6. Toss in the basil when the sauce is thickened

When the three cup chicken is finished cooking, you will have flavorful chicken with chewy-textured skin and a savory-sweet sticky glaze that will have you licking every last bit off your fingertips. 

The active cooking time is really short, too, so you can make this even after a busy day. Would you rather avoid lifting a finger on a weeknight? Prep this a day ahead and you’ll have an amazing meal just waiting to reward you at the end of your day!

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Three Cup Chicken (三杯鸡)

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 13 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 to 6 servings

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Authentic Chinese restaurant-style flavors abound in this three cup chicken recipe that is simple to make with absolutely aromatic results. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

To make this dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine and use tamari to replace the soy sauce.

Ingredients 

• 2 lbs (900 g) chicken wings
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 3 ” (8 cm) ginger , thinly sliced
• 16 cloves garlic , lightly smashed
• 6 dried chili peppers
• 1/3 cup Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar (or regular sugar)
• 1 bunch basil , stems removed (*Footnote 1)

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Instructions

• In a 12” heavy-bottomed wide skillet (*Footnote 2) heat the sesame oil over low heat and add the ginger. Slowly fry the ginger until it begins to brown and curl on the edges, about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and dried chili peppers. Cook until the garlic turns light golden, another 5 minutes.
• Turn the heat up to a medium-low (be careful not to turn the heat too high or the sesame oil will burn and become bitter). Move all the aromatics to the side of the pan and add the chicken in a single layer. Rearrange the aromatics on top of the chicken to prevent from burning, if needed. If you have trouble fitting all the chicken, you can remove the aromatics and add them back later.
• Cook the chicken, undisturbed, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until browned on the other side, another 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add the Shaoxing wine and use a wooden spatula to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add back the aromatics if you removed them previously. Gently stir everything together.
• Add the soy sauce and sugar and stir again to coat all the chicken pieces.
• Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low or medium-low. Simmer covered for 40 minutes. Stir and toss occasionally to coat the chicken and check on the consistency of the sauce.
• After 40 minutes, remove the lid. The sauce should have thickened and coated the chicken very well. If the sauce is still watery, cook uncovered for a few more minutes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
• Add the basil. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Once the sauce is thick and glossy, transfer the chicken to a big serving plate.
• Serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. Thai basil if possible, other basil will work fine.
2. You can use a wok or dutch oven to cook this recipe, as well. I prefer to use a large skillet or wok over a dutch oven because it reduces the sauce faster and creates the perfect caramelized result. If you use a dutch oven, you might need to leave the pot uncovered longer at the end of the cooking to reduce the sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 373kcal, Carbohydrates: 17.9g, Protein: 16.9g, Fat: 25.8g, Saturated Fat: 5.8g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 845mg, Potassium: 239mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4.7g, Calcium: 67mg, Iron: 2mg

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Other dishes to serve with three cup chicken

• Blistered Shishito Peppers
• 20 Quick and Easy Asian Side Dishes
• Fire Roasted Eggplant with Garlic Vinegar Sauce
• Spicy Rice Noodle Salad
• Choy Sum with Garlic Sauce

Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.