Soy Sauce Chicken
Soy Sauce Chicken is so flavorful! Cooked in dark soy sauce with herbs and spices that are so fragrant. Enjoy a mouthful this juicy and moist chicken with an oriental touch.
The most exciting part of eating this soy chicken is that you made it yourself. There is no need to eat in a restaurant to enjoy this Asian-inspired dish. Whether it’s your first time cooking or a seasoned home cook, this recipe will guide you to make the best soy sauce chicken at home.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fried chicken or baked chiken just like anybody else. But now and then, I look and try to make something special out of chicken. This soy sauce chicken is just the right dish for that occasion.
What makes it really good?
Soy sauce chicken is a staple Cantonese favorite. You’ll most likely see whole soy sauce chicken hanging in restaurant windows. But what really makes it so tasty? The spices and aromatics are essential ingredients in making this chicken dish. The chicken stewed in soy sauce though is what I can say the defining moment of the dish, hence the name.
How to make Soy Sauce Chicken?
The chicken needs to be washed and cleaned of giblets before cooking. If frozen, take out the chicken an hour before. Rub the chicken with salt to remove some grime off the skin and wash then pat dry with clean kitchen towels.
Place it in a bowl and rub with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce then stuff the inside onion, spring onion, and ginger. Let it marinate for at least two hours or overnight.
Use a tall cooking pot with just the right size where the chicken will fit. Heat sesame oil and cooking oil then tip-in garlic, onion, cinnamon, star anis, cloves, and bay leaves. Let the ingredients cook for a few minutes then add brown sugar until caramelized. Pour the marinate sauce used from the chicken.
Let it simmer then add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, gently lower the chicken and simmer for 20 minutes in low heat. Turn the chicken every five minutes for even coloring.
After 20 minutes turn the heat up to high and cook for 10 minutes while turning every 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the pot for 30 minutes occasionally basting the top. Remove the chicken from the pot and place it on top of a baking rack with a plate below to drain the liquid.
Tips for Soy Sauce Chicken
- Do not throw away the liquid from cooking the chicken! It makes for a good sauce.
- If you don’t want to cook a whole chicken, you can use chicken thigh or drumsticks and reduce cooking time since they will cook quicker.
- If you have left-overs, you can heat them up again with sauce in your stove and season accordingly.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
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Soy Sauce Chicken
Ingredients
For marinating the chicken
- 1 whole chicken (preferably fresh)
- 2 stems spring onion (rolled to fit inside chicken)
- 2 thumb sized ginger (peeled and sliced)
- ½ onion (peeled and sliced)
- 2 cups dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp salt (for rubbing chicken)
For cooking the chicken
- ½ tbsp cooking oil
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- ½ onion (sliced)
- 2 pcs cinnamon sticks
- 4 pcs dried cloves
- 2 pcs star anis
- 2 pcs bay leaves
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cups water
Instructions
Marinating the chicken
- Remove giblets if there's any then rub salt on the skin to remove grime. Wash chicken thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.
- Stuff spring onions, ginger, and onion. Place in a bowl and pour dark soy sauce and oyster sauce. Rub the sauce on the chicken and marinate for a minimum of two hours.
Cooking the chicken
- Heat cooking oiland sesame oil in a tall pot over medium heat.
- Tip in garlic, onion, star anis, cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Saute until onions are translucent.
- Add brown sugar and stir until sugar caramelized.
- Pour the marinade sauce from the chicken and simmer for 3 minutes then add two cups of water and bring to a boil.
- Gently submerge the chicken and simmer for 20 minutes in low heat while turning every 5 minutes.
- Turn up the head and cook for 10 minutes while turning every 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit on the sauce for 30 minutes while basting the top of the chickenwith sauce occasionally.
- Transfer the chicken on a cooling rack with a plate underneath to catch the liquid draining from the chicken. NOTE: Save the liquid as sauce for chicken
- Cut into serving size and pour some sauce then serve. Bon Appetit!
