Description
Soy Sauce Chicken is a Cantonese classic featuring juicy chicken braised in a fragrant blend of soy sauce, aromatics, and sugar. It’s savory, slightly sweet, and packed with deep umami flavor—perfect with rice or noodles.
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs or Legs: 4 pieces, skin-on, bone-in
- Ginger: 1 thumb-sized piece, sliced
- Scallions: 2, cut into 3-inch segments
- Star Anise: 2 whole pods
- Bay Leaves: 1–2
- Light Soy Sauce: ¾ cup
- Dark Soy Sauce: ¼ cup
- Sugar: 2 tablespoons (rock sugar or brown sugar)
- Shaoxing Wine: ¼ cup (or dry sherry)
- Water: Enough to mostly submerge chicken
- Oil: ½ tablespoon (optional for sautéing aromatics)
Instructions
- Prepare Broth: Heat oil in a wide pot. Sauté ginger, scallions, star anise, and bay leaves until fragrant.
- Mix Sauce: Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, and water. Stir to dissolve sugar.
- Add Chicken: Place chicken into broth, skin-side down. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer Covered: Cook 30–35 minutes, flipping once. Adjust time based on chicken size.
- Rest: Turn off heat, cover, and let chicken sit in the broth for 10–15 minutes.
- Serve: Slice, spoon sauce over, and garnish with scallions. Pair with rice or noodles.
Notes
- Use a combination of light and dark soy sauce for depth and balance.
- Let chicken rest in the broth to absorb more flavor.
- Store leftover broth—it’s great as a base for soups or stir-fries.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thigh with sauce
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 1080mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 7g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 24g
- Cholesterol: 115mg