香噴噴的三杯雞

My introduction to the popular Taiwanese dish – Three-cup Chicken aka Sanbeiji三杯鸡 was during the spring break of 2006. I was hosted by Jack and Christin in their humble Southern California abode. Jack, who is Taiwanese (台湾小伙子), was aghast that I had never tried sanbeiji, and was quick to rectify the situation (teehee lucky me).

Three years later in Beijing, my colleagues and I arrived at this Taiwanese restaurant that we had been frequenting in recent weeks. “来一份儿三杯鸡!” we ordered. Much to our disappointment, our favourite dish now had more ginger than chicken. “太离谱了吧!” We decided that this mockery shall not be tolerated. We never went back.

In order to have sanbeiji on a regular basis, I sent an email to Jack and Christin, asking for the recipe.

Christin replied: “Add one cup of sesame oil, one cup of soy sauce and one cup of rice wine.”

Just as I raised my eyebrow to that, another reply came, “Ermm.. let me check with Jack.”

Jack’s reply (and my very basic translation):
切好塊的雞肉半隻或1/4隻 Chicken
老薑 約巴掌大的一塊 Ginger
蒜5-10瓣 Garlic
辣椒一支 Red Chili
糖2匙 Sugar
麻油3大匙 Sesame Oil
醬油1/3杯 Soy Sauce
米酒或白酒1/3杯 Rice Wine (They call this 料酒in China)
九層塔或羅勒basil少許 Basil

*note: I didn’t really bother with the measurements since I’ve always felt that you can just wing it for Chinese cooking.

炒菜鍋版：
1. 蒜、老薑拍碎（因為薑用刀切味道會出不來）備用，以麻油熱鍋後將蒜、薑、辣椒爆香。http://blog.xuite.net/iq943/recipe原創
Sautéed garlic, ginger and red chilli in sesame oil.

2. 爆香的香味出來後，把雞肉塊放入鍋中翻炒，接著放入糖、醬油、米酒，大火燒2分鐘後以小火悶煮約10分至水分收乾，起鍋前放入九層塔或羅勒略炒一下就有香噴噴的三杯雞囉！

Add chicken. Stir. Add sugar, soy sauce, rice wine and stir-fry for 2 minutes then cook for about 10 minutes until it dries up. Add basil when it is almost done.

Just when I was adding basil to the pan, it hit me – I had previously created a recipe for Ginger Scallion Chicken using exact ingredients as this one, with the exception of using scallions instead of basil. What a goober.

Christin’s reply came: “I guess the three-cup thing isn’t literal.”

Even though I didn’t take Christin’s suggestion for one cup of sesame oil, my yummy and 香噴噴 sanbeiji was still soaking in too much oil. Tasty oil though, mind you.

Sanbeiji

Complementary Dishes:
Mushroom and Bok Choy as a side dish


Eggs, Tomatoes and Scallions

Written by The Slow Chopper




Comment by The Camel:
Although very similar to her first experiment with Ginger Scallion Chicken, the basil makes the difference. Oil is crucial in this dish, as it absorbs the garlic and ginger flavors. Cooked thoroughly as to release all flavors, but not burned, these ingredients give the Sanbeiji its signature taste. Succulent, yet oily, this one is a keeper.