Name: Easy Chinese Soy Sauce Chicken
Prep time: 240 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 250 min
Ingredients: 1 whole organic chicken ( ,800g); steamed rice for serving; 1 cup unsalted chicken stock or water; 3/4 cup light soy sauce; 2 tbsp. dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp. rock sugar; 1 inch root ginger ( ,smashed); 3 scallions ( ,cut into small sections); 4 garlic cloves ( ,smashed); 2 star anises; 1 small piece of cinnamon; 1 small piece of sand ginger (沙姜，recommended to include it or you can use dried ones); 1/3 cup rice wine; 1 tbsp. sesame oil

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Chinese soy sauce chicken is known as 豉油鸡 and it is a featured dish from Chinese Cantonese cuisine. I have been living in Guangdong province around 4 years and this soy sauce chicken is always on our dinner list. It should be as popular as char siu when steamed with steamed rice.

One of the essential key step for this easy and brilliant chicken recipe is to purchase high quality soy sauce. We combine light soy sauce (mainly for the flavor) and dark soy sauce (mainly for coloring). If you need more information about basic Chinese sauces and seasonings, check Chinese sauces.

Perfect soy sauce chicken has tense skins and super tender meat inside. The sauce remaining after well cooked is extremely yummy. So do not waste it. You can drizzle on the chicken, or mix with the rice or save it for a bowl of upper level of soy sauce noodles.

Cook’s Note

Choose organic tender chicken under 1000kg is highly recommended for this recipe. Those young chicken is easy to cook and tender than older ones.
Clay pot or other thick pot with brilliant heat preservation and heat conduction, so the tender chicken can be cooked with a very gentle heat. As a consequence, the meat can be more evenly done.
It is ok when you feel the chicken is too tender and there might be some very light pink color in the bones. Gentle cooking can help use bringing back a degree of tenderness and when the inter temperature reaches around 160 degree F (70 degree C), the potential harmful bacteria can be killed.
During the cooking process, cook the legs slightly for a longer time and the breast for a shorter time. Comparing with the thigh, breast is much tender and begins to getting dry when the temperature exceed 68 degree C. While the chicken thigh should be well cooked around 73 to 75 degree C.

Instructions

Firstly, remove the chicken feet (you can save it for a stock) and clean the main body. Add all of the marinating ingredients and massage the chicken for couple of minutes. Set aside for at least 3 hours. Turn over at least twice during the time.

After marinating, the chicken should be well colored all around.

Transfer the marinating juice to a pot (just enough to hold the chicken, do not use oversized pot with lots of empty spaces). Add around 1 cup of chicken stock or water. Bring it to a boiling.

Place the chicken in and keep spreading the sauce on the chicken with the help of a scoop. After adding the chicken, the temperature of the liquid will drop quickly. Use medium to slow fire and keep the liquid almost simmering but not strongly boiling. This is the key to keep the chicken tender.

Simmer one side for 10 to 12 minutes and then turn over, simmer the other side and the stomach for another 10 to 15 minutes until 3/4 of the sauce are cooked off. Then cover the lid and let the chicken stay inside for 10 minutes (continue heating the chicken with the remaining heat of the pot).

Transfer out and then cut into large bite size pieces.

The best way is to serve it with steamed rice. In addition, you can spread the remaining liquid on the rice and make the dish ever better. Enjoy!

By the way, if you love to cook whole chicken, check salt baked chicken (盐焗鸡) and Chinese style braised chicken with spices and soy sauce (脱骨卤鸡) and Chinese roasted chicken (广式烧鸡). In summer time, you must try tender and milk white cut chicken and spicy Sichuan mouthwatering chicken.