Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji, 三杯鸡)

5 from 34 votes

Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji, 三杯鸡)

Quick to cook and super aromatic, three cup chicken is a crowd-pleasing dish that you must try! Follow the tips to make it to perfection.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: servings

Author: Wei Guo

Ingredients

3½ tablespoon sesame oil divided
20 slice ginger
20 clove garlic
3 stalk scallions white and green parts separated
2 lb chicken thighs cut into bite-sized chunks (see note 1)
½ cup Shaoxing rice wine (see note 2)
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar or white sugar, rock sugar
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 bell pepper cut into chunky pieces
1 handful fresh Thai basil (see note 3)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Fry the aromatics

Pour 3 tablespoons of sesame oil, leaving ½ tablespoonful for later use, into a wok/large skillet, then add ginger slices, garlic (whole or halved), and the white part of the scallions. Fry over low heat until they become fragrant and the garlic browns slightly.

Sear the chicken

Push the aromatics to the side of the wok/skillet. Then put in chicken pieces. Arrange them in a single layer and sear them over medium heat. Flip and stir to brown other sides until they lose most of their pinkness.

Braised the chicken

Add Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Toss briefly then cover with a lid. Leave to braise over high heat for about 5 minutes (Alter the cooking time to 8 for chicken wings, 12 minutes for drumsticks, or 3 minutes for breasts).

Reduce the sauce

Open the lid and stir in bell pepper and the green part of the scallions. Leave it to cook further uncovered (keep the heat high).
Once the cooking liquid reduces to a desired amount (see note 4), turn off the heat. Stir in the remaining ½ tablespoon of sesame oil, and fresh basil leaves. Dish out and serve warm with steamed rice.

Video

Notes

1. I used skin-on, boneless chicken thighs for shooting this recipe. You can also use skinless, boneless thighs, chicken wings (cut into segments), or drumsticks. Chicken breasts are a passable substitute but you need to take extra care not to overcook it.

2. Good quality Shaoxing rice wine contains little salt (mine has 0.08g salt per 100ml of wine). If your one has a higher salt content, you’ll need to reduce its quantity and add some water to make up for the required liquid volume.

3. Thai basil can be replaced by Italian basil (aka sweet basil). If you prefer not to use basil at all, increase the quantity of scallions.

4. Depending on your liking, the cooking sauce can be reduced to different volumes. Consider the following factors:

The less liquid, the saltier the dish would taste;
The sauce is great for mixing into steamed rice;
The consistency of the sauce thickens as it cools.

Nutrition