Three Cup Chicken is a braised dish built on equal parts sesame oil, Shaoxing rice wine, and soy sauce — the classic trio that gives it its name. Bone-in, skin-on thighs braise until tender to the bone in a dark, glossy sauce fragrant with garlic, ginger, and dried chilli, finished with a generous handful of Thai basil that wilts into the dish at the last moment.
1kg
10clove
80ml
30g
6piece
80ml
80ml
1tbsp
20g| # | Product | Quantity | Notes | State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 1kg | — | — | |
| 2 | | 10clove | — | — | |
| 3 | | 80ml | — | — | |
| 4 | | 30g | — | — | |
| 5 | | 6piece | — | — | |
| 6 | | 80ml | — | — | |
| 7 | | 80ml | — | — | |
| 8 | | 1tbsp | — | — | |
| 9 | | 20g | — | — |
Lay the chicken thighs on the plate and press kitchen paper firmly over each piece, top and bottom, until the skin and flesh are as dry as possible.
Chicken thigh · 1 kg
Trim the root end from each garlic clove and press the flat of the knife down hard to split the skin, then slip each clove free.
Garlic clove · 10 clove
Place the flat of the knife over each peeled clove and lean your palm down firmly to crush it open.
Pour the sesame oil into the wok.
Sesame oil · 80 ml
Set the wok over a medium-high heat and warm the sesame oil until it shimmers and a piece of ginger dropped in sizzles immediately.
Scrape the crushed garlic cloves from the board into the hot sesame oil.
Place the fresh ginger on the chopping board.
Fresh ginger · 30 gHold the ginger under cold running water, rubbing the skin clean, then place it back on the board.
Scrape the skin from the rinsed ginger using the back of the knife, working around the knobbly surface.
Cut the ginger crossways into rounds about 3 mm thick, discarding the tips.
Slide the sliced ginger into the wok with the garlic and oil and stir-toss constantly until the garlic is golden at the edges and the kitchen smells sweet and nutty.
Drop the dried red chillies into the fragrant aromatics in the oil.
Dried red chillies · 6 pieceStir everything together and keep moving the chillies through the oil until they deepen in colour and smell smoky.
Lift the patted-dry chicken thighs from the plate and lower them into the wok with the aromatic base.
Press the chicken thighs skin-side down into the aromatic base with tongs and leave undisturbed until the skin is deep golden and releases cleanly from the wok. The wok needs to be at least 30 cm across so the pieces sit in one layer; if yours is smaller, cook them in two batches.
Flip each thigh and sear the flesh side until it colours and the edges are no longer raw-pink.
Pour the Shaoxing rice wine over the seared chicken thighs.
Shaoxing rice wine · 80 mlPour the soy sauce into the wok, letting it run down the sides to pick up the caramelised bits.
Soy sauce · 80 mlScatter the caster sugar evenly over the contents of the wok.
Caster sugar · 1 tbspGive everything a thorough stir so the sugar dissolves into the soy and wine and coats the chicken.
Cover the wok, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and braise, turning once halfway, until the largest piece reads 74 °C on a thermometer and is tender to the bone: about 15 minutes for thighs chopped into 5 cm pieces, closer to 25 for whole thighs.
Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium-high, and let the sauce bubble and reduce, tilting and swirling the wok, until it is thick, glossy, and clings to the chicken.
Pile the Thai basil leaves into the wok.
Thai basil leaves · 20 gToss everything together with tongs until the basil has wilted into the sauce and turned a deep, glossy green.
| # | Product | Tool | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 kg | | Lay the chicken thighs on the plate and press kitchen paper firmly over each piece, top and bottom, until the skin and flesh are as dry as possible.⏱ 1 minResultPatted-dry chicken thighsused in step 14 |
| 2 | 10 clove | | Trim the root end from each garlic clove and press the flat of the knife down hard to split the skin, then slip each clove free.⏱ 1 minResultPeeled garlic cloves |
| 3 | Peeled garlic clovesstep 2 | | Place the flat of the knife over each peeled clove and lean your palm down firmly to crush it open.⏱ 30sResultCrushed garlicused in step 6 |
| 4 | 80 ml | | Pour the sesame oil into the wok.⏱ 5sResultSesame oil |
| 5 | — | | Set the wok over a medium-high heat and warm the sesame oil until it shimmers and a piece of ginger dropped in sizzles immediately.⏱ 1 minResultHot sesame oil |
| 6 | Crushed garlicstep 3 | | Scrape the crushed garlic cloves from the board into the hot sesame oil.⏱ 5sResultCrushed garlic and hot sesame oil |
| 7 | 30 g | | Place the fresh ginger on the chopping board.⏱ 5sResultFresh ginger |
| 8 | Fresh gingerstep 7 | | Hold the ginger under cold running water, rubbing the skin clean, then place it back on the board.⏱ 30sResultRinsed fresh ginger |
| 9 | Rinsed fresh gingerstep 8 | | Scrape the skin from the rinsed ginger using the back of the knife, working around the knobbly surface.⏱ 30sResultPeeled fresh ginger |
| 10 | Peeled fresh gingerstep 9 | | Cut the ginger crossways into rounds about 3 mm thick, discarding the tips.⏱ 30sResultSliced ginger |
| 11 | Sliced gingerstep 10 | | Slide the sliced ginger into the wok with the garlic and oil and stir-toss constantly until the garlic is golden at the edges and the kitchen smells sweet and nutty.⏱ 2 minResultFragrant aromatics in oil |
| 12 | 6 piece | | Drop the dried red chillies into the fragrant aromatics in the oil.⏱ 5sResultFragrant aromatics in oil and dried red chillies |
| 13 | — | | Stir everything together and keep moving the chillies through the oil until they deepen in colour and smell smoky.⏱ 1 minResultToasted aromatic base |
| 14 | Patted-dry chicken thighsstep 1 | | Lift the patted-dry chicken thighs from the plate and lower them into the wok with the aromatic base.⏱ 5sResultPatted-dry chicken thighs and toasted aromatic base |
| 15 | — | | Press the chicken thighs skin-side down into the aromatic base with tongs and leave undisturbed until the skin is deep golden and releases cleanly from the wok. The wok needs to be at least 30 cm across so the pieces sit in one layer; if yours is smaller, cook them in two batches.⏱ 5 minResultSeared chicken thighs |
| 16 | — | | Flip each thigh and sear the flesh side until it colours and the edges are no longer raw-pink.⏱ 3 minResultEvenly seared chicken thighs |
| 17 | 80 ml | | Pour the Shaoxing rice wine over the seared chicken thighs.⏱ 5sResultEvenly seared chicken thighs and shaoxing rice wine |
| 18 | 80 ml | | Pour the soy sauce into the wok, letting it run down the sides to pick up the caramelised bits.⏱ 5sResultEvenly seared chicken thighs and shaoxing rice wine and soy sauce |
| 19 | 1 tbsp | | Scatter the caster sugar evenly over the contents of the wok.⏱ 5sResultEvenly seared chicken thigh and shaoxing rice wine mixture |
| 20 | — | | Give everything a thorough stir so the sugar dissolves into the soy and wine and coats the chicken.⏱ 15sResultSauced chicken |
| 21 | — | | Cover the wok, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and braise, turning once halfway, until the largest piece reads 74 °C on a thermometer and is tender to the bone: about 15 minutes for thighs chopped into 5 cm pieces, closer to 25 for whole thighs.⏱ 15 minResultBraised chicken |
| 22 | — | | Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium-high, and let the sauce bubble and reduce, tilting and swirling the wok, until it is thick, glossy, and clings to the chicken.⏱ 4 minResultThree cup chicken with glossy sauce |
| 23 | 20 g | | Pile the Thai basil leaves into the wok.⏱ 5sResultThree cup chicken with glossy sauce and thai basil leaves |
| 24 | — | | Toss everything together with tongs until the basil has wilted into the sauce and turned a deep, glossy green.⏱ 20sResultWilted basil in glossy three cup sauce |
| Total Time | 40 min | ||
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| 548kcal | |
| 53g | |
| 29g | |
| 5g | |
| 12g | |
| 4g | |
| 1g | |
| 1,433mg |
Three Cup Chicken is a braised dish built on equal parts sesame oil, Shaoxing rice wine, and soy sauce — the classic trio that gives it its name. Bone-in, skin-on thighs braise until tender to the bone in a dark, glossy sauce fragrant with garlic, ginger, and dried chilli, finished with a generous handful of Thai basil that wilts into the dish at the last moment.
What you’ll doYou will fry crushed garlic and ginger in sesame oil in a wok, then brown the chicken thighs. They braise in Shaoxing wine and soy sauce until the liquid becomes a sticky glaze, and are finished with Thai basil.
