Soy Sauce Chicken or &"See Yao Gai&" is really a essential Cantonese favorite, found hanging under heat lamps in lots of Chinatown restaurant home windows. You’ll think it is close to the poached chickens, roast ducks, and roast pork. Have the ability to their merits, however a Soy Sauce Chicken done correctly is difficult to conquer.
It’s Judy’s favorite food to get while in Chinatown, and there's just something concerning the flavor of the chicken which makes it so satisfying and attractive every time we obtain it. Nowadays, a four to five pound soy sauce chicken runs about 23 dollars, that is totally worthwhile, but additionally more reason to really make it in your own home.
The cooking way of soy sauce chicken is comparable to the main one utilized in our Cantonese Poached Chicken w/ Ginger root Scallion Oil (bai qie ji ), recipe, however the similarities finish there. Stewed soy sauce, aromatics and spices would be the essence of the dish. Once you allow it to be a couple of times, you are able to you can adjust the levels of sauces and spices for your own taste. It required us a couple of tries to obtain the right ratio of ingredients!
Let’s start the recipe.
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds (preferably free-range, never frozen)
2 teaspoons oil
7 slices ginger root
2 scallions. reduce 3-inch pieces and smashed flat
3 whole star anise
1 cups rose-flavored grain wine (mei kwei lu ) or shaoxing wine
1 cups soy sauce
1 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1 cup sugar, plus two tablespoons
2 teaspoons salt
10 cups water
Bring your chicken from the refrigerator an hour or so before you decide to intend to prepare. You’ll need it at 70 degrees if this hits the pot. Take away the giblets, and completely rinse the chicken inside and outside.
Grab your stock pot. It'll ideally be considered a tall, narrow pot which will just fit the chicken, since it ought to be totally submerged within the cooking liquid (if you are using a bigger pot, you’ll have to increase all of the ingredients proportionally to produce more cooking liquid). Place it over medium low heat, and add some oil and ginger root.
Allow the ginger root caramelize for around thirty seconds. Adding the scallions and prepare another thirty seconds.
Add some star anise and grain wine, and produce to some simmer to allow the alcohol prepare off. Add some soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and water. Provide a simmer again and prepare on low heat for an additional twenty minutes.
Boost the heat to create the liquid to some slow boil (i.e. just a little more powerful than the usual simmer, although not a moving boil). Make use of a large roasting fork placed in to the chicken cavity to reduce the chicken gradually in to the pot breast side up. Make certain any air pockets within the cavity fill completely with liquid. The chicken ought to be entirely submerged at this time.
When the chicken gets into, the cooking liquid will awesome lower. Allow it to prepare for around a few minutes at medium high temperature. Next, make use of your large fork to softly lift the chicken from the water and empty the liquid within the cavity, which is cooler compared to liquid all around the chicken. Lower the chicken into the pot, ensuring once more there aren’t any air pockets within the cavity. When the chicken isn't completely submerged, periodically baste the uncovered area with cooking liquid.
Bring the liquid look out onto a lazy simmer, that ought to take about ten minutes. Ensure that it stays only at that slow simmer (the liquid is going to be about 210 levels F) for twenty five minutes. Switch off heat, cover the pot, and allow the chicken sit who are holding cards for an additional fifteen minutes. Transfer the chicken to some cutting board. If you want, use a meat thermometer within the thickest area of the leg to verify it’s arrived at 165 levels F.
Make use of the sauce in the pot to from time to time baste the chicken and your skin moist because it cools. Serve over grain with a few sauce in the pot!
We didn’t show it here however, many folks enjoy having this chicken with Scallion Ginger root oil from your Cantonese Poached Chicken recipe but personally, I love the wholesomeness from the stewed soy sauce with this chicken,
Note: You could make this recipe with chicken leg quarters and lower the cooking accordingly, because they are simpler to deal with and faster to prepare. Also, when you’re done cooking the chicken, you are able to really freeze the sauce/cooking liquid to be used again later (though you might want to re-season the sauce).
Soy Sauce Chicken
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds (preferably free-range, never frozen)
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 7 slices ginger root
- 2 scallions, reduce 3-inch pieces and smashed flat
- 3 whole star anise
- 1 cups rose-flavored grain wine (mei kwei lu) or shaoxing wine
- 1 cups soy sauce
- 1¼ cup dark soy sauce
- 1 cup sugar, plus two tablespoons
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 10 cups water
- Bring your chicken from the refrigerator an hour or so before you decide to intend to prepare. You will want it at 70 degrees if this hits the pot. Take away the giblets, and completely rinse the chicken inside and outside.
- Grab your stock pot. It'll ideally be considered a tall, narrow pot which will just fit the chicken, since it ought to be totally submerged within the cooking liquid (if you are using a bigger pot, you will need to increase all of the ingredients proportionally to produce more cooking liquid). Place it over medium low heat, and add some oil and ginger root.
- Allow the ginger root caramelize for around thirty seconds. Adding the scallions and prepare another thirty seconds. Add some star anise and grain wine, and produce to some simmer to allow the alcohol prepare off. Add some soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and water. Provide a simmer again and prepare on low heat for an additional twenty minutes.
- Boost the heat to create the liquid to some slow boil (i.e. just a little more powerful than the usual simmer, although not a moving boil). Make use of a large roasting fork placed in to the chicken cavity to reduce the chicken gradually in to the pot breast side up. Make certain any air pockets within the cavity fill completely with liquid. The chicken ought to be entirely submerged at this time.
- When the chicken gets into, the cooking liquid will awesome lower. Allow it to prepare for around a few minutes at medium high temperature. Next, make use of your large fork to softly lift the chicken from the water and empty the liquid within the cavity, which is cooler compared to liquid all around the chicken. Lower the chicken into the pot, ensuring once more that there isn't any air pockets within the cavity. When the chicken isn't completely submerged, periodically baste the uncovered area with cooking liquid.
- Bring the liquid look out onto a lazy simmer, that ought to take about ten minutes. Ensure that it stays only at that slow simmer (the liquid is going to be about 210 levels F) for twenty five minutes. Switch off heat, cover the pot, and allow the chicken sit who are holding cards for an additional fifteen minutes. Transfer the chicken to some cutting board. If you want, use a meat thermometer within the thickest area of the leg to verify it's arrived at 165 levels F.
- Make use of the sauce in the pot to from time to time baste the chicken and your skin moist because it cools. Serve over grain with a few sauce in the pot!
- Note: You could make this recipe with chicken leg quarters and lower the cooking accordingly, because they are simpler to deal with and faster to prepare. Also, once you are done cooking the chicken, you are able to really freeze the sauce/cooking liquid to be used again later (though you might want to re-season the sauce).
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87 Comments
Hi Bill I attempted the recipe tonight using chicken leg quarters, and lowering the sauce to twoOrthree of the original amount. It smelled great although it cooked, but my chicken didn’t have that beautiful dark golden brown color because the one out of the picture, and also the flavor appears like it may be more powerful. I’m thinking it might be since the leg quarters required rather less time for you to prepare (prob sitting who are holding cards 10 min less?). Or would you keep the pot uncovered when you boil the chicken?
Hi Ariel, Lowering the sauce amount proportionally is okay. However, you're right concerning the the cooking. You have to turn heat off previously the thighs and allow them to steep within the sauce longer. The entire time ought to be a minimum of half an hour or even more! When it comes to insufficient the dark golden color, the kind and freshness from the chicken thighs is a huge factor. Actually while using cheaper brands of chicken thighs from supermarkets rarely yields exactly the same golden brown color! Like I pointed out within an earlier comment, It has something related to how a chicken thighs are processed.
Basically would get this to with chicken quarters or any other areas of the chicken would I must use 4 lbs to suit the recipe?
Hi Jessica-Laura, Results will be different with just how much chicken you utilize but utilizing the same quantity of chicken we known as for would yield similar results. I believe should you used less chicken or thighs for instance, you can find a a little more intense flavor which isn't bad whatsoever!
