Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 slices ginger

5 cloves garlic (sliced)

1 dried chili (halved)

2 1/4 pounds chicken wings

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup shaoxing wine

2-5 teaspoons dark soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

Small bunch of Thai basil leaves or 2 scallions, cut into 2-inch/5cm lengths

Directions

Start by putting the sesame oil, vegetable oil, ginger, garlic, and red chili into your wok over medium heat. Let the aromatics infuse the oil for a couple minutes.

Then turn up the heat to high, and add the chicken wings to the wok all in one layer. Sear the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Then add 1/4 cup warm water, ¼ cup Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce (2-5 teaspoons, depending on how dark you’d like the dish to be), 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons sugar.

Stir and cover the wok. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 15 minutes to cook the chicken through (cook for 20 minutes if you want the chicken to be more tender).

Then remove the cover and turn up the heat to rapidly reduce the sauce for a few minutes until it clings to the chicken and gives it a rich, dark color. Make sure to stir the chicken during this process to prevent burning.

Throw in your Thai basil and/or scallions and fry another minute until it’s wilted. Serve!

Nutrition

• Calories: 290 kcal
• Total Fat: 21 g
• Saturated Fat: 8 g
• Cholesterol: 69 mg
• Sodium: 430 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 2 g
• Protein: 18 g