Please note that this recipe is not AIP/Paleo. However, I’m looking forward to changing the recipe to make it compliant soon.
Soy Sauce Chicken is a quintessential Chinese food favorite. You can usually find it hanging under heat lamps in many Chinese restaurant windows. You’ll find it near the salty chickens, roast ducks, and BBQ pork.
Our go to for soy sauce chicken is Sam Woo’s, which is usually found attached to your local Asian grocery store, Ranch 99. There is just something about the flavor of this chicken that is unlike any other chicken. The combination of the aromatics gives a skin an intense flavor and the poaching leaves the meat tender and juicy. A soy sauce chicken from Sam Woo’s goes for about $20 so it was a pretty good incentive to try to figure out how to do this at home.
I’m not sure how this chicken is prepared traditionally. This recipe is just trial and error. I’ve used a lot of traditional Chinese spices but I’m sure that the preparation is slightly different, however, the results taste the same. My very sweet fiancée thinks this recipe is actually better than what you’d find hanging in the window of a Chinese restaurant. His last name is Chen so I hope that gives the recipe a little bit of street cred.
The Scallion Sauce is usually served with another type of poached/steamed chicken, called Salty Chicken but I like it with my Soy Sauce chicken as well. The sauce is so good that I’d drizzle it over just about anything. It’s very addicting.
Soy Sauce Chicken
Ingredients
- For the Soy Sauce Chicken:
- 1 Whole Chicken about 5 -7 pounds
- 1/2 cup Oyster Sauce
- 2 1/2 cups Soy Sauce
- 5 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Wine something dry like a chardonnay
- 4 inch knob of ginger sliced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 Green Onions plus
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Star Anise
- 1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns
- For the Scallion Sauce:
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons ginger grated
- 2 Green Onions sliced
Instructions
- Place all but the chicken in a large stockpot. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken breast side down and let marinate for 20 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, combine the ingredients for the scallion sauce in a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Set aside and let the flavors marry while you finish preparing the chicken.
- Flip the bird and then marinade for another 20 minutes.
- Flip again and then place the pot on the stovetop and bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn the chicken over, cover and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and place the bird on a cutting board.
- Cover and let it rest for at least 15 minute before cutting.
What a great tasty recipe.