三杯雞 - Three Cup Chicken

Three Cup Chicken is a popular chicken dish in Taiwanese cuisine. It is basically chicken simmered in sesame oil, soy sauce and Chinese wine. Sounds plain, but incredibly delicious.
The traditional recipe calls for 1 cup each of rice wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce. For obvious health reasons, the tradition is hardly followed anymore. Rather, most people use equal parts of each condiment depending on the amount of chicken they have.Adding basil into the chicken is a must. The fragrant herb makes this dish very unique in taste and smell.

Yield:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 1.5 lb boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite size pieces
2. 10 cloves garlic, peeled & slightly bruised
3. 6 slices ginger
4. 2 stalks spring onions, cut to 2 inch lengths
5. 1/4 cup sesame oil
6. 1/4 cup soy sauce
7. 1/4 cup rice wine
8. 2 tsps sugar
9. 1 bunch fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Heat sesame oil in pan, then add garlic cloves, ginger, the thick white part of spring onions and stir fry till fragrant.
2. Add chicken pieces and stir fry till the surface are no longer pink.
3. Stir together soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar in a bowl, pour over chicken. Stir evenly, bring to a boil, and turn down the heat to low.
4. Add the rest of the spring onions, cook uncovered until the sauce is reduced & thickened.
5. Turn heat back up to high and add basil, cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Serve over steamed rice.

Notes

You can also add one red chilli (de-seeded, cut to small sections) to step 1 if you wish to have a spicy taste.