Healthy Three Cup Chicken

If there’s something that Asian cuisine is good at, it’s braising meat until it is juicy, succulent, and packed full of umami and flavor. The famous three cup chicken is a braised chicken dish using 1 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of sesame oil, and 1 cup of rice wine. If you’re like me, your jaw is dropping on the floor from the shock of using a full cup of oil in a recipe. So, here’s a healthy three cup chicken recipe. Traditional three cup chicken does not typically use oyster sauce, but I’m a huge fan of the umami that oyster sauce brings so I’ve decided to include it in my recipe.

Three cup chicken is a great dish to make for meal prep or for a busy weeknight meal. Why? Once you finish searing the meat and heating up the aromatics, you can just leave it to braise on your stovetop while you carry on with other tasks. Set it and forget it, essentially! Within 45 minutes, it will be ready to eat.

Can I use any cut of chicken?

For this healthy three cup chicken recipe, it is really important to use bone-in pieces of chicken. The bone keeps the meat nice and juicy throughout braising. If you cannot find chopped up pieces of bone-in chicken, then go ahead and use whole drumsticks or whole chicken thighs. You would just have to increase cooking time and the amount of water added to your sauce at the beginning of cooking. Do not use breast because chicken breast will dry out after such a long cooking time.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 42 minutes mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 lbs bone-in chicken drumsticks cut into 1 inch thick pieces
• 2 inch piece of ginger sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• handful basil leaves roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch green onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Braising Sauce

• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup xiaoxing wine
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil

Method

 

1. Mix together ingredients for the braising sauce. Set aside.
2. Season chicken leg pieces with salt and pepper.
3. Heat deep skillet on high heat. Add in oil. When oil is shimmery, add in chicken pieces and allow to sear, about 3 mins each side.
4. Then add in a ginger and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes until you smell their fragrance. Then add in sauce.
5. Allow to simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid on. After 15 minutes, flip the pieces of chicken over to allow the other side to absorb the sauce. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid. Raise the heat to high to allow the sauce to thicken, about 10 minutes. When sauce has thickened enough to coat the chicken, add in basil, green onion, and 1 last tbsp of sesame oil. Allow to simmer for another 2 minutes.
7. Taste for seasoning. Dilute with water if too salty. Add in soy sauce, oyster sauce, or salt if it needs more flavor.
8. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

For other easy weeknight dinner ideas, check out my chicken vesuvio recipe.