Taiwanese 3-cup chicken 三杯雞

One of my favourite dishes from home is 三杯雞, or, literally, three cup chicken. Cooked in sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce with a load of whole garlic cloves, fresh slices of ginger, and Thai holy basil (九層塔), this dish is always a reminder of how an over-abundance of flavour can work. Thai holy basil can be hard to find, but my local Asian market sometimes stock it.

Three cup chicken

Ingredients

3-4 servings

1 kg chicken, preferably skin-on chicken drumsticks, thighs, and/or wings, either chopped into 3-inch, bone-in pieces, or thighs halved along the bone, wings split at the joint, and drumsticks left whole
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks (optional)

¼ C pure sesame oil, preferably dark sesame oil

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

12-15 medium garlic cloves, peeled

1-2 fresh Thai red chillies, stemmed and halved

½ C rice wine

¼ C tamari

1 tbsp demerara sugar

2 C fresh Thai holy basil leaves

Steamed turmeric wholegrain basmati rice, for serving
Stir-fried kai-lan with garlic, for serving

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add in the ginger slices, garlic, and chillies and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Add in the chicken pieces (and carrots if using) in a single layer and gently fry, tilting the pan if necessary to submerge all the pieces in the oil, for 1-2 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the rice wine, tamari, and sugar in the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover the skillet and cook, turning the chicken pieces every few minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
   
4. Stir in the Thai basil and remove from heat. Serve immediately with rice and vegetables.