Taiwanese-Style Three Cup Chicken is without question, my favorite Taiwanese dish. I can finish the entire dish and a large bowl of rice all by myself. The rich flavors and tender bites of chicken are addicting, I can’t stop eating it until it’s gone.
I decided to share the recipe of Taiwanese-style three cup chicken a couple weeks ago and since then, I’ve been testing the recipe back and forth. I have finally settled on this version – It tastes as good as what you’ll get in a restaurant and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Let me start by introducing the main ingredients. For two servings, you’ll need one pound boneless chicken leg/thigh, 10-12 garlic cloves, 5-6 ginger slices, 2 stalks green onion, a handful of fresh basil leaves and a couple dried chili peppers if you want to add some heat to the dish.
To begin, I sauteed the ginger slices with sesame oil over medium-low heat. Once they were brown and crisp on the edges, I added the garlic cloves. The garlic will release a wonderful aroma while cooking. Besides the chicken, the soft-on-the-inside garlic cloves are my favorite parts of the dish.
Next, I added the green onion and dried chili peppers in, and sauteed until fragrant.
Up to this point, most aromatic ingredients are in the pan except for basil leaves (which will be added last). The sesame oil has absorbed the flavors from these ingredients and now it’s the perfect time to stir in the chicken.
Wondering why this dish is called “three cup chicken”? The “three-cup” is referring to the seasoning sauce made by combining a cup of rice wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil each.
Since the sesame oil was added in the beginning, now, it’s time to add the seasoning mixture of cooking wine, soy sauce and sugar. Check the recipe below for detailed amount used for each ingredient. This recipe also follows the namesake ratio of 1:1:1 for cooking wine, sesame oil and soy sauce.
Once the sauce has reduced and thickened, the basil leaves are added.
Continue simmering for a minute or two and once the basil leaves have turned soft, this dish is ready! Look at the color, my mouth was watering the whole time while I was cooking.
This dish has a rich, sweet, and savory flavor and the best way to enjoy, it in my opinion, is with a bowl of plain white rice. Spoon some rice onto a plate, add the chicken, basil and garlic cloves on top and enjoy them together!
Enjoy this recipe? Spread the word, share it with your friends!
Or leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts about this recipe. Cheers and see you next time!
You Might Also Like
Sweet and Sour Chicken is one of the most popular Chinese dishes and also one of my personal favorites. The recipe I am going to share today, is a simple version of this dish. Instead of coating the chicken with batter, I marinated the chicken with egg white from one egg, one teaspoon of potato sta Read more >
I love making fried rice at home. It’s a great way to clear the fridge. Today, I am going to share a tasty and easy beef and kimchi fried rice recipe. Here are some other fried rice recipes I have shared on Spice the Plate in the past you might also like: ham and assorted vegetables as well as egg Read more >
Today I am going to share the recipe for a beef with Chinese broccoli stir fry. It’s tasty, easy to make and you can replace Chinese broccoli with a different kind of vegetable such as broccoli, collard greens or kale. I like it because it’s very versatile and I can make this dish for Bryan and Read more >
If you are looking for a great way to cook pork belly, the braised pork belly over rice is definitely worth checking out!! It has amazing flavor and tender texture. The fat won’t be greasy at all after braising, and would melt in your mouth when eating. This braised pork belly over rice dish is Read more >
Hey guys, today I am going to share a tender and juicy Soy Sauce Chicken Thighs recipe. This dish will fit your need for a simple weeknight dinner recipe. It requires only one main ingredient (chicken thighs) and takes just 20 minutes to make. The savory soy sauce favor comes from marinating the ch Read more >
Today I want to share a delicious and super easy bacon with snow peas stir fry recipe with you. I used only four simple ingredients: bacon, snow peas, mushroom and garlic to make this dish. To start, I cooked the bacon over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until the fat is released and the b Read more >
It’s been a couple of days since I went grocery shopping and when I searched our fridge to look for ingredients used to cook dinner, I could only find half pound of beef, a third bunch of kale and some garlic and ginger. Since it’s already too late to go grocery shopping, I have decided to go wi Read more >
I am super excited about today’s post, because this is going to be my 100th recipe post on Spice the Plate! Before I tell you more about this egg and shrimp pancake dish, I want to spend time thanking everyone for your support along the way. While this started as a hobby to share my home-made Asi Read more >
Smoked salmon montadito with Mexican crema is 100% a small bite with big flavor. Not only pleasing on the palate, it’s also a treat for the eye. Today I decide to mix it up a little and post a recipe that is not Asian but great for the upcoming summer season. These smoked salmon montaditos wi Read more >
Making pickled vegetables at home is a must-do summer activity for my family. Every summer, I’d helped my mom make a variety of delicious pickled dishes together. This Pickled Daikon Radish, Carrot and Cucumber is the first pickle recipe I learned from my mom. Now I am sharing it with you. This r Read more >
Minced pork vermicelli (肉末粉丝) is a beloved dish of Szechuan province. It’s easy to assemble yet loaded with flavor. I am super excited to share this recipe with you. Let’s get started! First, we need to hydrate the dry vermicelli noodles by immersing them in water. With hot water, the no Read more >
Korean cheesy hot rice cakes? Yup, that’s right. Speaking of rice cakes, people immediately think of the crispy rice snacks. But that’s not this recipe is about. I am actually referring to a kind of rice cakes commonly used to make a popular Korean dish – tteokbokki. These cylinder-shaped ric Read more >