Chinese Braised Chicken
This Chinese Braised Chicken is a healthy, richly flavorful, and easy dinner solution. Perfect over a bed of fluffy rice. Leftovers are wonderful.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 16 chicken legs, towel dried
- 7 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 5 whole star anise, dried
- 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, brownish in color
- ⅔ cup regular soy sauce
- ⅔ cup Asian rice cooking wine, for cooking
- table salt
- freshly chopped cilantro, for garnish, or green onions
- green onions, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except chicken in a Dutch oven or heavy pot. Stir to incorporate.
- Using a fork, poke holes everywhere on all sides of the chicken pieces. Be sure not to skip the towel drying. Add chicken to the pot. Sprinkle a thin layer of table salt lightly over the chicken. Stir to coat chicken in sauce.
- Bring to a boil and immediately drop down to medium-low heat. Cover pot and cook for 1 hour, occasionally stirring/turning the chicken with a wooden spatula so that all sides are braised in the sauce evenly.
- If desired, garnish with chopped cilantro or green onions. Serve warm.
Notes
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven to maintain even heat during braising. This helps prevent scorching and ensures the sauce reduces properly.
- Don’t skip poking holes in the chicken. This helps the meat absorb more of the savory braising sauce and results in deeper flavor throughout.
- Avoid using rice vinegar in place of rice wine. The acidity of vinegar will throw off the balance of the sauce. Use rice cooking wine or dry sherry as a better substitute.
- Turn the chicken a few times while braising so all sides absorb the sauce evenly. A gentle wooden spatula works best to avoid tearing the meat.
- This recipe is part of our Chicken Dinner Recipes Collection.
- We love serving this Chinese Braised Chicken with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice to soak up the savory sauce.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 69g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 772mg | Potassium: 932mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 118IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 4mg