Soy Sauce Chicken See Yao Gai 豉油鸡 is traditionally a whole chicken braised in an aromatic master stock made from soy sauce. In China a master stock is used again and again, each use imparting more flavour into the stock. For health and safety reasons I don’t advise that you use your stock again and again but if you have any of the broth left you can freeze it and use it second time.
Soy sauce chicken although not roast in an oven or over an open flame is considered to be a type of Siu Mei. It is sold in Cantonese BBQ shops alongside classic Chinese style BBQ meats like Char Sui. While the authentic recipe calls for a whole chicken, I prefer to simplify the cooking process and use chicken thighs. Soy Sauce Chicken can be served as part of a Chinese feast or served simply with rice or noodles. In China the meat is removed from the bone and chopped into pieces.
The sauce is then normally thickened with a little cornflour and served with the dish. Using a good quality chicken stock and using a little less soy than in the usual Chinese recipes I rely on reducing the stock to make a delicious alternative. The stock adds another layer of richness and helps the sauce develop a great shiny finish.
Soy Sauce Chicken Aromatics
Soy Sauce Chicken uses two types of soy sauce which add salty, caramel and umami flavours. For my aromatics I like to use some typical ingredients used in Chinese braises. Garlic, Ginger, and Spring Onions for my base flavours. My aromatics are Bay Leaves, Star Anise, and Cassia Bark, which is also known as Chinese Cinamon. These are fried in a little oil at the start of cooking to help release their beautiful flavours.
Soy Sauce Chicken See Yao Gai 豉油鸡
Ingredients
- 6 large free-range Chicken Thighs
- 500 ml quality Chicken Stock
- 150 ml Light Soy Sauce
- 50 ml Dark Soy Sauce
- 150 ml Rice Wine Vinegar
- 50 ml Vegetable Oil
- 50 gr Dark Brown Sugar
- 3 large Spring Onions
- 4 cloves Garlic peeled and crushed
- 5 cm piece Ginger peeled and grated
- 2 large pieces Cassia Bark
- 3 Star Anise Pods
- 2 large Bay Leaves
Equipment
- 1 large heavy-bottemed frying pan
- 1 Sieve
Instructions
- Gently heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add the garlic, spring onions, ginger, and spices and sauté for a couple of minutes without burning the ginger and garlic. Add the soy sauces, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and chicken stock and bring to the boil.
- Carefully add the chicken thighs skin side down and add a little extra water, if necessary, until the thighs are just covered. Bring back to a gentle simmer and cook for thirty minutes. Carefully turn the thighs over and continue simmering for another ten minutes basting occasionally as the sauce reduces.
- Lift out the thighs and keep warm. Strain the sauce then return to the heat and continue to reduce until thick and shiny.
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