A simple and delicious way to cook chicken, Chinese oyster sauce chicken requires little effort and basic skills but delivers amazing taste.
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About the dish
Braising is one of the most popular cooking methods in Chinese cuisine. Soy Sauce Chicken, Scallion Chicken Chops, and Lemon Chicken are classic examples. Today’s recipe, Oyster Sauce Chicken (Háo Yóu Mèn Jī/蚝油焖鸡), is another one well worth trying.
It features tender, flavorful chicken coated with a thick brown sauce that stars oyster sauce (Háo Yóu/蚝油), a kitchen staple that lends a rich umami flavor to both meat and vegetable dishes, such as Oyster Sauce Lettuce and Oyster Sauce Gai Lan.
If yoI love cooking oyster sauce chicken for weeknight dinners since it requires so little effort to prepare. If you’re a busy home cook like me or are just starting to learn Chinese cuisine, this is definitely a recipe to save.
Ingredients
Apart from chicken, this recipe calls for common aromatics and a set of basic Chinese condiments. Here is a detailed list:
Chicken
For oyster sauce chicken, Chinese cooks usually use bone-in, skin-on chicken that is chopped into bite-sized pieces. I prefer whole chicken thigh pieces as they’re easier to handle. Other flavorful cuts, such as wings, drumsticks, or leg quarters, are good substitutes. I don’t recommend you use breasts as they’re not suitable for braising.
Condiments
To season the dish, you’ll need oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar, and white pepper. This combination creates an umami-rich savory taste with a subtle hint of sweetness.
🌟 NOTE: To make this dish seafood-free, you can replace the regular oyster sauce with a vegetarian version, such as the mushroom vegetarian stir-fry sauce by the popular condiment brand Lee Kum Kee.
Aromatics
Ginger, garlic, and scallions are used to enhance the aroma of the dish. Optionally, add a few dried chili peppers for a mild heat kick.
Cooking process
Step 1: Sear the chicken
Add a little cooking oil to a skillet and heat it up. Then lay in the chicken thighs, along with whole garlic cloves and sliced ginger.
Sear the chicken over medium heat until the side facing down browns a little. Flip over all the pieces to fry the other side.
Step 2: Braise the chicken
While the first step is in process, mix all the condiments with some hot water. Pour it into the skillet once the chicken turns lightly golden on both sides. Add dried chili peppers if you’re using them.
Cover the skillet with a tight lid and leave to simmer over medium-low heat. After 15 minutes, flip the chicken pieces over and cover to braise for a further 10 minutes.
🌟 NOTE: If you are using chicken wings, drumsticks, or leg quarters instead of thighs, you’ll need to reduce or prolong the cooking time based on the size of the pieces. Use a kitchen thermometer if unsure, poke into the thickest part and the temperature should be over 165 °F(74 °C).
Step 3: Thicken the sauce
Remove the lid and turn the heat up to high. Let the sauce bubble up intensely so that some water from the sauce evaporates.
Once you get the desired consistency of the sauce — thick enough to coat a spatula, turn off the heat. For your reference, it took me about 3 minutes for this process. Watch attentively to avoid burning.
🌟 NOTE: Unlike some stir-fries or dishes using skinless chicken, you don’t need cornstarch to thicken the sauce. The collagen in the chicken skin, connective tissues, and cartilage will make the sauce thick.
Serving ideas
Here are some dishes that pair well with oyster sauce chicken:
- Vegetables: Garlic Bok Choy, Ginger Spinach, Tiger Skin Peppers, Hot & Sour Cabbage, Cucumber Salad, etc.
- Staples: Steamed Rice, Soy Sauce Noodles, Steamed Bao, Yang Chun Noodles, etc.
Other popular chicken dishes
If you wish to cook more delicious Chinese dishes made with chicken, check out these popular recipes:
📋 Recipe card
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Oyster Sauce Chicken (蚝油焖鸡)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
- 6 chicken thighs (skin on and bone in), about 2 lb/900g in total (see note 1)
- 10 clove garlic
- 10 slice ginger
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce, see note 2
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 cup hot water
- 5 dried chilies, optional
- 1 stalk scallions, finely chopped
Instructions
Sear the chicken
- Heat oil in a skillet. Place in chicken thighs, garlic cloves, and sliced ginger. Pan fry over medium heat until both sides turn lightly golden.
Braise the chicken
- Mix oyster sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper with hot water. Pour the mixture into the skillet and add dried chilies if using.
- Cover the skillet with a lid and leave to braise over medium heat for 15 minutes. Flip over the chicken thighs and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Thicken the sauce
- Uncover the skillet and turn the heat up to high. Let the sauce bubble intensely. Once the sauce has become thick enough to coat a spatula, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Garnish the chicken with chopped scallions and serve immediately.
Notes
Your Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for dinner last night with chicken drumsticks. The hint of heat from the dried chilies was a nice surprise. Liked how easy and fast this cooked up on a weeknight. It is a keeper!
That’s wonderful to hear!
I made your Oyster Sauce Chicken. My husband loved it as well as I did. This one is a keeper!
Thank you for trying my recipe. Glad you enjoyed this chicken dish!
I really dislike dark meat chicken. I only use white meat and all my cooking and you say breasts are not suitable for the oyster sauce chicken. Why?
Chicken breasts are less tender and less flavorful for this dish. However, if you only eat breast meat, it’s perfectly fine to use it.
My students loved this recipe. Nice and spicy and very easy to make
So happy to hear that!
I have made Oyster Sauce Chicken twice, the second time with your recipe. It was by far my favorite. It was not only an easier recipe, but it was also more flavorful. (I used Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce both times.) I will be making this again and again.
That’s such a lovely compliment. Thank you, Darcy! I’m so glad this version stood out for you in both ease and flavor.
Tried this today and may have been most delicious chicken dish I’ve ever made. So flavorful and rich tasting with the perfect amount of heat. The oyster sauce adds the right amount of richness to the dish. Thank-you so much for being so generous with ALL your incredible recipes!!!
That means so much! I’m thrilled you loved it! The oyster sauce really does add that extra depth of flavor. Thank you for your kind words and for trying the recipe—happy cooking!
This came out super delicious. Was in the mood for some tasty chinese food when I found this receipe. I grow my own vegetables, so I replaced the scalions with some fresh onion stems and added my own serrano pepper. Gave it a super fresh pop! I’ve also cooked the rice according your rice receipe (in saucepan) and have never been as satisfied with my rice before. Thank you. Great instructions. Have to try some of your other dishes on here…
So happy to read your feedback Sarah! Hope you’ll find more inspiration on my blog.
These have quickly become a staple weeknight dinner in my house. Incredibly flavourful while being easy to make with enough down time to make side dishes. I use whatever bone in cut of chicken is the cheapest at the store.
I’m so glad it’s become a staple in your kitchen, and using whatever bone-in chicken is available is a great approach.