Miki's Food Archives : Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken 台式三杯鸡

Photo updated: 8 August 2017

This is a very popular dish in Chinese cuisine and it's especially famous in Taiwan. Many Chinese families know how to cook this at home because it's as simple as 1, 2, 3... The name 'Three Cup Chicken' tells the recipes: 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup rice wine and 1 cup sesame oil for 1 chicken. Sounds easy right? But it took me quite some time to get the taste right.

I have tried a few attempts with chicken and pork. Followed the original recipe for each cup of everything. Indeed not exactly 1 cup, I only followed the ratio but it turned out too salty and the taste....simply short of 'something'.

After adjusting the sauce, very close to the original ratio but I reduce the soy sauce by adding some sweet soy sauce, which also works by adding sugar but I like the sweet soy taste. Did I say the taste is lacking 'something'? Yes, I fixed it with Shao Xing Hua Tiao wine. The rice wine version is less fragrant compared to the Shao Xing Hua Tiao version.

Now I am satisfied with my version of Three Cup Chicken. Yes, I know what's on your mind, how about the Three Cup Pork recipe? .....Well, I can ensure you that this three-cup goes a lot better with chicken than pork!

Three Cup Pork

Three Cup Chicken cooked in a wok. Using chicken legs.
Photo updated September 6, 2016

Added some Huiji Waist Tonic to this three-cup chicken dish to enhance the taste and nutrition.
Adjusted the recipe - use rock sugar instead of sweet soy sauce to yield the glossy finish.
Taste-wise, absolutely delicious! Click here for the recipe >>

Photo updated 6 May 2017

Ingredients:

12 Chicken Mid-Joint Wings (about 520g) 鸡中翼 12 个

6 cloves Garlic 蒜米 6 粒

8 slices Ginger 姜 8 片

A handful of Basil Leaves 九层塔，适量

2 tbsp Sesame Oil 麻油 2 汤匙

Sauce: 酱料

1 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce 酱油 1.5 汤匙

2 tbsp Shao Xing Hua Tiao Wine 绍兴花雕酒 2 汤匙

2 tbsp Sweet Soy Sauce 甜酱油 2 汤匙
(can be replaced with rock sugar + soy sauce, add to taste 可改用冰糖＋酱油调味）

1/2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce 黑酱油半汤匙

Mix a pinch of corn flour with water (optional) 少许玉米粉加水勾芡，可以不放

Photo updated: March 2023

If you are sharing this recipe, kindly attach the link to this blog instead of screen capture/ copy & paste/ use in your blog and claimed it as your recipe! Thank you.

如果您要分享此食谱，请联系这个部落格的相关链接。敬请不要复制或改篇为自己的食谱。谢谢！

Method:

1. Heat sesame oil in a skillet. Be careful not to burn the oil.
热锅，加入麻油，稍微加热。不要太热。

2. Add ginger slices, cook for a few seconds and add the garlic. When the oil is bubbling, add in chicken mid-joint wings.
加入姜片，稍微煎一煎，再加入蒜米。当油开始起泡，加入鸡翅。

3. When the bottom of the chicken wing is slightly brown, flip it over and continue to cook until both sides are slightly brown.
把鸡翅的两面稍微煎香。

4. Add in all the sauce ingredients. Cover and let it simmer for 1 minute.
加入所有酱料，盖好闷1分钟。

5. Remove the lid, add in basil leaves and stir in corn starch, if using. The corn starch is optional, you can omit this and let it simmer a little longer until the sauce is thickened.
把锅盖打开，加入九层塔，再勾芡。如果不要勾芡，就焖至收汁。即可。

6. When the sauce is thickened, remove it from the heat. Serve warm with steamed rice.
建议配白饭吃。味道很棒，很下饭的一道菜。若喜欢我的食谱，可以LIKE和追随我的面书专页，不要错过最新食谱发布。

If you like my recipe, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook page or follow us on Instagram: mfa_dingoozatfood to receive more recipe updates. Remember to favourite my pages if you wish to see my post on your news feed.

Enjoy!

Some feedback from those who have tried this recipe: