San Bei Ji (Three-Cup Chicken)

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp sesame oil (30 ml)
• 10 garlic cloves (about 50 g)
• 40 g fresh ginger (a piece about 6 cm long)
• 4 tbsp soy sauce (60 ml)
• 20 g soft brown sugar (about 1 heaped tbsp)
• 80 ml water + 1 tbsp rice vinegar (instead of rice wine)
• 1 bunch fresh basil (30 g)
• 210 g jasmine rice + 320 ml water for cooking

🍴 Utensils

• Wok or large sauté pan with a lid
• Saucepan with lid
• Colander
• Bowl
• Kitchen knife
• Wooden spatula

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the rice in the sieve under cold water until the water runs almost clear. Put it in the saucepan with 320 ml water, bring to the boil, then cover and cook for 12 minutes over a very low heat. Leave to rest for 10 minutes off the heat, without lifting the lid.
2. Cut the thighs into 4 cm pieces and pat them dry with kitchen paper so they brown well. Peel the garlic cloves, leaving them whole, then rinse the ginger and, without peeling it, cut it into thin 2 mm slices.
3. In the bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, 80 ml water and rice vinegar until the sugar dissolves. This mixture replaces the original ‘three cups’ (sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine), without the alcohol.
4. Heat the sesame oil in the wok over a medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until the ginger curls up and the garlic is golden. Lift them out with a spoon and set aside on a plate, leaving the oil in the wok.
5. Turn up to a medium-high heat, but no higher: sesame oil burns quickly and turns bitter. Add the chicken in a single layer, in two batches if your wok is small, and leave it to sear for 3 minutes without touching it, then turn it and brown for another 3 minutes.
6. Return the garlic and ginger to the wok, pour in the sauce and bring to the boil. Reduce to a medium heat, cover and braise for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, so the chicken cooks through and the garlic cloves turn meltingly soft.
7. Remove the lid and let the sauce reduce for 4 to 5 minutes over a medium-high heat, stirring often, until it turns syrupy and coats the pieces in a glossy glaze. Watch the end closely: the sugar can catch in seconds.
8. Off the heat, add the basil leaves and toss for 30 seconds: they should just wilt and perfume the dish. Serve immediately over the rice, spooning over the rest of the sauce.