Cantonese soy sauce chicken
45 min · 47 g protein · 477 cals / serving
The flavours of the glossy soy sauce chicken in Cantonese barbecue shops, made with boneless thighs in one pan: simmered in light and dark soy with ginger, scallion, star anise and a splash of Shaoxing until tender, then the braise boiled down to a sweet-savoury mahogany glaze. With garlicky bok choy and rice.
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless thighs (1 3/4 lb) chicken thigh, trimmed
Braise
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, light (regular) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce, dark soy sauce, for the colour
- 2 tbsp sherry, Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 tbsp brown sugar, or rock sugar
- a 5 cm (2-inch) piece ginger, sliced
- 6 green onions, white parts in lengths for the braise, greens sliced to serve
- 2 whole star anise anise seed
- a pinch ground cinnamon, or a small piece of cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cups water
Rice
- 2/3 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1 cup water
- 7 small heads bok choy, halved
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
- a handful fresh cilantro, to serve (optional)
Steps
- Put both soy sauces, the Shaoxing, sugar, ginger, scallion whites, star anise, cinnamon and water in a wide pan that fits the thighs in one layer and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and simmer gently 20 minutes, turning the pieces once, until tender and 165°F inside.
- Meanwhile bring the rice and water to a boil in a pan with a lid, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Take off the heat and leave covered.
- Blanch the bok choy in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes and drain well. Wipe the pan dry, return it to high heat and toss the bok choy with the sesame oil and sliced garlic for 30 seconds.
- Lift the chicken onto a board. Take out the ginger, star anise and scallion, then boil the braise hard for 6–8 minutes, until reduced by half. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and bubble until it coats a spoon. Return the chicken and turn it in the glaze until shiny and dark.
- Slice the chicken and serve over the rice with the bok choy, spooning over the glaze and scattering with scallion greens and coriander. For lunches, spread the rice out to cool quickly and refrigerate it and the chicken within an hour; it keeps 3 days.
Good to know
Can I use skin-on chicken, like the barbecue shops?
Yes: skin-on thighs give the classic glossy skin. Simmer them 25–30 minutes. The skin adds a lot of fat, at about 56 instead of 66.
No dark soy sauce?
It is what gives the deep mahogany colour, and Asian shelves in most supermarkets carry it. Without it, use 1 1/2 teaspoons of molasses or treacle with the light soy; the colour is close and it adds a hint of sweetness.
Per
- Calories
- 94
- Protein
- (40%)
- 9 g
- Fat
- (29%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (31%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 317 mg
About 35% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1907 kcal goes into the pot and 2435 g of ingredients comes out as about 2025 g of food: 94 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.