Three-Cup Chicken with King Oyster Mushrooms Taiwanese Style 三杯杏鮑菇雞

Three-Cup Chicken is perhaps one of the signature dishes of Taiwanese cuisine. It was a typical dish on our dinner table, and my all-time favourite from my mom!! I don't know any Taiwanese person who doesn't like this dish. With lots of ginger, rice wine, and dark sesame oil, it is supposed to be very warming for the body, and therefore is a must in the fall and winter. The dish gets it's name from the three key ingredients: 1 cup dark sesame oil, 1 cup soy sauce, and 1 cup rice cooking wine.

I used a whole chicken to get the most complete nutrients, but you can just use chicken legs, if you prefer.

我在這裡是所使用的是整隻雞，以攝取較完整的營養。不喜歡雞胸肉的朋友們也可以使用雞腿喔~ (・∀・)

The aroma of this dish plays a very important role. It is essential to use high quality ingredients, then the rest is just easy. Typically, people use chicken legs for this dish for their tenderness. Since I prefer having things whole, I used the entire chicken here for this dish (its also more economical this way). I also don't eat a lot of meat, so I added one of my favourite mushrooms, king oysters, to it to make it even healthier. This recipe combines both my mom's and my own take on this classic dish. Make it on a cold day, it will satisfy your palate and give you the warmth and comfort you need!

 

Three-Cup Chicken with King Oyster Mushrooms Taiwanese Style (6 Servings)

About 1 1/2 lb. organic whole chicken (which is what I used) or 4 chicken legs

6       large king oyster mushrooms

30     thin slices of ginger

15     cloves of garlic

1      red chili, cut into several segments (optional - I did not add any since I can't eat spicy foods)

1/4 C and more dark sesame oil

A: 1/4 C    soy sauce

    1/4 C    rice wine

    1 1/2 T light brown sugar

A big handful of Thai basil, separate the leaves and stems

 

1. Bring one quart of water to a boil. Cut the mushrooms into 1/4" slices lengthwise.

2. Blanch the mushrooms in the boiling water for 1 minute. Strain it and set aside.

3. Cut the chicken into pieces (or you can have the butcher cut it for you). *If your chicken is very fresh and not bloody, you can just go to the next step. Otherwise heat a pot of water and blanch it to get rid of the blood.

4. Heat a claypot and pour in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add half of the ginger slices and sauté until lightly browned. Take it out and set aside. *Using a clay pot can help to cook things more evenly and seal in the flavor, but you can also use a cast iron pot. Here, I used a cast iron wok.

5. Add more sesame oil to the clay pot. Place chicken pieces in the pot to brown both sides along with the rest of the ginger. *You'll probably need to do this in several batches since the pot may not fit everything.

6. Take out the chicken and set aside. Stir fry the garlic and chili (if using) in the same pot until aromatic, add the mushrooms and stir fry until lightly golden brown. Add more sesame oil if necessary.

7. Add the chicken and ginger back in the pot with A and Thai basil stems. Move the chicken around and make sure it's coated the sauce. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for about 15-20 minutes until the juice has reduced a little.

8. Pick out the Thai basil stems and throw it out. Add the Thai basil leaves and continue to cook without covering fully for another 3-5 minutes. Serve over rice or Taiwanese thin vermicelli. (^∇^)

          

                                                                                               - Yvonne

三杯雞可以算是最有名的台菜之一；它是我從小到大時常會出現在家裡飯桌上的其中一道菜，也是老媽的有名拿手菜。我不知道有任何人會不喜歡吃。因為加有老薑、米酒及黑麻油，對寒性體質的人來說特別的補，也因此為人們在秋季與冬季的所愛。而三杯雞的名稱是來自於燒這道菜的主要三種同等量的調味：一杯黑麻油、一杯醬油、一杯米酒。

這道菜好吃的所在是它的香氣和味道，所以使用上等的食材非常的重要，至於烹煮方面其實並不難。一般來說都是以雞腿來做這道菜比較嫩，但我喜歡盡量使用完整的食材，因此我是以整隻雞去做的。除此之外，不太愛吃太多肉的我，選擇在這個食譜裏加些我自己所喜愛的杏鮑菇，使其更健康！

 

三杯杏鮑菇雞 (6人份)

整隻雞   約1斤半 或雞腿4隻

杏鮑菇   6個

老薑      切薄片約30片

蒜粒      15粒

紅辣椒   1條，切段 (我自己不能吃辣，所以沒有加（￣□￣；）

黑芝麻油 1/4 杯

A: 醬油  1/4 杯

    米酒  1/4 杯

    冰糖  1 1/2 大匙

九層塔 一大把， 將梗與葉子分開

1. 將一鍋水燒開。同時將杏鮑菇切成約5公分厚的長片。

2. 將切好的杏鮑菇放入煮開的水稍微燙一下，瀝乾後置一旁。

3. 將整隻雞或雞腿切塊(或也可以買已經切好的)。*若是新鮮買來又乾淨，可以直接到下一個步驟；但是若已放幾天也有血水，必須先燒一大鍋水將，將雞肉燙過以除去血水。

4. 將一個大型的沙鍋加熱，倒入2大匙的黑芝麻油。加入一半的薑片，炒至稍微金黃後拿出。

5. 沙鍋中倒入一些黑麻油，放入雞肉與剩下的薑片將兩面煎至金黃。*由於量多，可能需要分幾次來完成這個步驟。

6. 將煎好的雞肉取出，倒入更多的麻油將蒜粒與辣椒炒香後，加入杏鮑菇一起炒至稍微金黃。

7. 加入之前的雞肉、薑片、九層塔梗與A料翻炒一下。蓋上鍋蓋以小火煮20分左右至湯汁稍微變少。

8. 將九層塔梗挑出丟棄，加入九層塔葉繼續煮3-5分鐘即可，鍋蓋不需完全蓋上。很適合與飯或台灣麵線一起吃喔！(^∇^)

                                                                                               - Yvonne

Dark sesame oil is made with toasted black sesame seeds, while regular sesame oil is made with lightly toasted white sesame seeds. That is why the flavour of the dark sesame oil is much more intense and the colour is darker. If you don't live in Asia, the dark sesame oil can only be found in Chinatown grocery stores.

黑芝麻油是由炒過的黑芝麻製成，而香麻油是以稍微炒過的白芝麻製成，因此黑芝麻油顏色較深，口味也較重。住國外的朋友們必須到中國城的商店才可能買到它。

Sauté the ginger pieces until slightly brown 

將薑片炒至稍微金黃

Choosing a clay pot or a Dutch oven to make this dish would be best since they cook things more evenly and seal in the flavour very well. Here, I used a cast iron wok. 

 

由於沙鍋和鐵鍋能保溫又保味，選擇以這兩種鍋來煮這道菜是最好的選擇。