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Easy and authentic three cup chicken (san bei ji) recipe that anyone can make at home. This three cup chicken recipe tastes homey and takes 20 mins to make.
Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken
Three cup chicken or san bei ji (三杯鸡) is one of the most classic Taiwanese recipes. I always order this dish whenever I eat out at Taiwanese restaurants.
I love Taiwanese recipes because they are unpretentious, humble and homey dishes that are easy to make at home. One of my favorite Taiwanese recipes is Taiwanese salt and pepper chicken.
Taiwanese cuisine is basically Chinese food with local influences with slightly different cooking methods, local adaptations and variations.
Many Taiwanese dishes remind me of Chinese-Malaysian food. Both share the same origin from Fujian province in China as many early immigrants settled in Taiwan, Malaysia or Singapore.
Why Is It Called Three Cup Chicken
The name three cup chicken (三杯鸡) comes from the three key ingredients in the recipe:
- Sesame oil
- Chinese rice wine
- Soy sauce
“Cups” refer to the equal ratio instead of literal measurement of three cup chicken recipe.
A true and authentic Taiwanese three cup chicken calls for basil leaves, the soul of the dish that lends an exotic aroma and minty nuance to the taste.
Taiwanese also love all sorts of “three cup” recipes, for example three cup squid (三杯小卷), tofu, mushrooms or eggplant. All of them are delicious!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Three Cup Chicken
If you like crispy chicken, you may deep fry the chicken quickly until the outer part of the chicken are fried, but may not cooked through inside.
Drain the chicken with paper towels and follow the remaining cooking steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 308 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Three Cup Chicken
This dish is best served as a main entree, with steamed rice. For a wholesome Taiwanese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Three Cup Chicken (三杯鸡)
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500g) chicken drumsticks, chicken thighs or a combination of chicken parts
- 1 tablespoon baking soda , to tenderize the chicken, optional
- 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil , or toasted sesame oil
- 2- inch (5cm) old ginger, peeled and cut into thin pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dark sweet soy sauce, kecap manis
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 bunch Thai basil leaves
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into pieces and rub them with baking soda. Set aside for 10 minutes before rinsing the chicken with water. Make sure the baking soda is completely rinsed off. Pat the chicken pieces dry and set aside. This step is optional.
- Heat a clay pot over high heat and add the sesame oil. Add the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry until aromatic. Add the chicken and stir quickly a few times.
- Add the soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine, then continue stir-frying the chicken. Cover with the lid, lower the heat, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the basil leaves and stir well with the chicken. Dish out and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe looks very easy and very good, I really want to make it.it is OK if I take the skin off? I really don’t know specially because of the baking soda, can I use the baking soda on the meat without the skin? Please advice. Thanks
Yes of course Paulina. Yes you can. :)
Outstanding. Did not have Thai basil so used fresh basil from the garden.
A 2-inch piece “OLD” ginger??
There are two types of ginger – young and old. Young ginger has very thin almost transparent light yellowish skin. Old ginger has thicker skin…anyway, most markets sell only old ginger so you should be fine…in Asian stores they sell both young and old.
I can’t get Thai Basil. Can I substitute it with sweet Basil?
Yes you can try but it won’t taste the same. You should be able to get basil in the market in Singapore.
Tried this and was great except that mine was so wet, more like braised. Any suggestion?
Cook it longer to dry up the liquid. Sometimes the chicken releases a lot of water, that’s why you need to pat the chicken very dry with paper towels.
You only cook the chicken for 5 mins.? That seems short for chicken on the bone.
Is that correct?
Hi Dave, the baking soda will make the chicken tender so you don’t want to overcook it. However you can cook for a little longer if you like. I updated the recipe to 5-10 minutes.
Can baking soda be used to tenderize beef as well?
Yes
Thank you for the recipe. I lived in Taiwan for 3 years
And this was one of my favorite dishes. Please advise what
can be used as a substitute for the wine.
You can skip but it won’t taste the same.
Dry sherry is a good substitute for the rice wine…
Looking forward to trying the recipe. No problem with ingredients, as stores in my part of the US have all the basics (Wei Chuan xiaoxing wine, Kadoya sesame oil). Planning to sub Thai sweet soy sauce for the kecap manis since thatโs what I have on hand.
I love Chinese dishes and the fact that they try to cook in clay pots as much as possible. Honestly, i think food tastes much better when cooked in clay and i mean unglazed real clay pots, not ceramic ones. ย There are so many benefits to clay pot cooking, and i found this website which is dedicated to this type of cooking, very helpful when i was in the process of learning about it: miriamseartehncookware DOT com. ย Now i cook all my food in these pots and love the difference it makes in my life.ย
My son and I have made this twice. We found all ingredients at our local Asian-Pacific Market and the wine at the liquor store. We have only had trouble getting Thai Basil — it goes very fast at our market. We used regular basil that time, but it’s not the same. Am preparing to make for the third time today. This recipe is outstanding. We serve it with Jasmine or Basmati rice. We followed the recipe pretty much exactly as written, including the baking soda part, which really does make some tender chicken. If you shop at an Asian market in your city, there is usually an employee to help you figure out what you’re looking for. Tricky when the labels aren’t in English!