Pictorial: Soy Sauce Chicken

[hzrt8w]

Soy Sauce Chicken

Soy sauce chicken is a very common dish: both home-made or bought in restaurants. There are hundreds of recipes. The key to making it is the sauce ingredients and the timing.

The sauce ingredients

Dark soy sauce, lo shui (Chinese Marinade), 1/2 onion, chicken meat, garlic, and some brown sugar. Ginger and star anise - (not shown in picture)

Chinese Marinade

I like to use this ready-for-use mix from Lee Kum Kee. In Cantonese, it is called lo shui (master sauce). They translated it as "Chinese Marinade". It is a mix made of soy sauce and five spices and such. It is very flavorful. If you taste it, you will notice that it is very salty. You dilute it with water for use.

If you cannot find this ready-for-use mix, you can also use the whole spice:

Cinnamon, star anise, funnel, clove and corriander?

Dark soy sauce

Here is the dark soy sauce I use. I like the Peal River Bridge brand. You may use your favorite brand but I think this brand has the best flavor.

Onion, garlic, ginger, pein tong:

I like the taste of onion and garlic in my soy sauce chicken so I use them to prepare my braising soy sauce. Some recipes don't call for them and you don't need to use them if you don't care for them. But the ginger and brown sugar is absolutely essential for making soy sauce chicken. I normally use rock sugar (bing tong) but I ran out the other night. So I used pein tong (sugarcane sugar?), which is an acceptable substitute. White sugar is a bit too plain for the flavor.

Wedge half an onion, mince the garlic, grate the ginger (I like it grated so the flavor is absorbed by the sauce, you can just slice it if you like.)

Boil the sauce with all ingredients

If you make the "master soy sauce" for the first time, add "lo shui", dark soy sauce and water in a 1 to 1 ratio on all three. If you re-use the master sauce from previous cooking sessions, you should replenish the "lo shui" and dark soy sauce but have no need to add water because each time you cook, the sauce will be diluted from the water content extracted from the chicken meat. Bring the sauce mix to a boil, add the wedged onion, minced garlic, grated ginger, brown sugar and add about 10 star anises. Boil the mixture for a good 15 minutes with the lid on.

Put the chicken in and simmer.

Add the chicken in the boiling sauce. I use a whole chicken sometimes, but this time I used boneless chicken breasts. Whole chicken (with bones and skins) is the best in flavor because the chicken skin protects the meat from overcooking (meat turns rough), and dark meat can tolerate overcooking more than white meat. Once the chicken meat is in, turn down the fire immediately to slow/medium. Put the lid on and simmer it. If you use boneless chicken breast like I do, be very careful with your timing. Breast meat can be overcooked easily (if you forget to turn down the fire). Dark meat is more forgiving. Chicken breast can be ready in just 15 minutes. Give or take. Just check the meat. The simple rule to tell is: NO MORE PINK. When chicken meat turns from pink to white, it's done.

If you cook with a whole chicken, the sauce should cover at least half a chicken. You just simmer/braise the chicken on one side, then turn it and cook the other side. (The second side doesn't take as long). Maybe 15-20 minute for the first side and 10-15 for second?

Finished dish.

When the meat is cooked, take it out and slice it (or chop it with a cleaver). Use a strainer to filter out the onion/garlic/ginger/star-anise/etc. Discard them. Scoop some soy sauce and pour on top of your chicken. If you have left-overs, it's best to keep the chicken breast whole and only slice it up when you serve.

I usually save the master soy sauce. When it cools down, drain all grease and other pulps. Keep in a plastic container in the freezer. Use it again for your next round.

Edited September 16, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[jo-mel]

Salivating!

hzrt -- What is the sugar content on the LKK marinade? Also does the sliced sugar give the same sheen as rock sugar?

I've used rock sugar in this dish, and the sauce seemed thicker ----maybe because I let it reduce.

[jo-mel]

Oh--- what do you use to grate your ginger? I use a fine hand-held cheese grater.

Jo-Ann

[hzrt8w]

hzrt -- What is the sugar content on the LKK marinade?  Also does the sliced sugar give the same sheen as rock sugar?

←

Not sure. Probably none (I couldn't taste it). I will look at the label when I get home. Yes I think that rock sugar would give the sauce some sheen.

Oh--- what do you use to grate your ginger?  I use a  fine hand-held cheese grater.

←

Yeah, I use a flat all-purpose grater (maybe finer than the cheese grater).

[Dejah]

Well! Blow me down and pick me up with your chopsticks! hzrt! You are cooking up a storm here. Delicious pictures.

This is better than a "cook-off"

I have used chicken drumsticks, thighs or whole chicken for this dish. Because my s-i-l makes such excellent soya sauce chicken, I never make it these days.

[Yuki]

Great Job!!

My grandma does soya sauce chicken too but in a different method. She would start the chicken raw in the wok and keep frying it until it is done. During that time, she would pour soya sace on the chicken so it would absorb the flavor. I didn't want to try that method because it takes a long time for the whole chicken to get done and I don't like standing in front of the hot wok.

I am wondering why she doesn't use the soaking method since it is much more convenient than frying up a raw chicken?

[hzrt8w]

This is better than a "cook-off"

I have used chicken drumsticks, thighs or whole chicken for this dish. Because my s-i-l makes such excellent soya sauce chicken, I never make it these days.

←

We can change the title to "cook-off" if that would make you to try to cook it!

[torakris]

Is this the same dish as "red cooked chicken"?

I have seen recipes for this and the ingredients look similar.

[hzrt8w]

My grandma does soya sauce chicken too but in a different method. She would start the chicken raw in the wok and keep frying it until it is done. During that time, she would pour soya sace on the chicken so it would absorb the flavor. I didn't want to try that method because it takes a long time for the whole chicken to get done and I don't like standing in front of the hot wok.

←

Thanks, Yuki.

Yeah, that's the way I used to make it too. Frying the chicken first (with some garlic and ginger), and then add the soy sauce. But 2 draw backs:

1) You need to chop up the chicken in pieces to do it. Or else if you put the whole chicken in, the browning will be un-even.

2) With boneless chicken breast, you can fry it first. Without the skin protection, and that white meat cooks so quickly, the chicken breast will easily get overcooked.

And I observe those see foo (masters) in the BBQ stores don't really fry the chicken. So I started skipping that part. (Yeah... right... if you buy the story... just that I am lazy... Oh well, both)

I also want to add that I learned of a variation of this receipt which uses a 1-liter bottle of coca-cola in place of water. Yeah, you heard me. Coca-cola the soda soft drink. The taste of coca-cola is just so complimentary to the soy sauce chicken. When I first tasted that dish (about 30 years ago), I felt in love with it. I still make the "coca-cola chicken" every now and then.

[Tepee]

Yum! Keep it up and I don't have to crack my head to think what to cook for the next day!

For me, I put in more big bombay onions and I don't fish it out...I like the onion's sweetness. And, I add a hard-boiled egg to braise for each of us. Sometimes, slivered mushrooms are added too.

[hzrt8w]

Is this the same dish as "red cooked chicken"?

I have seen recipes for this and the ingredients look similar.

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I think you may say that. The term "red cooked" (Hung Shao [Mandarin]) is usually used on pork or beef but not on chicken. The method and ingredients are very similar though - except that in "red cooked" dishes, they typically don't use too much sugar.

The sauce in soy sauce chicken is typically on the sweet side.

[hzrt8w]

For me, I put in more big bombay onions and I don't fish it out...I like the onion's sweetness. And, I add a hard-boiled egg to braise for each of us. Sometimes, slivered mushrooms are added too.

←

Yeah, I have seen slices of hard-boiled eggs in many of the Straight-Chinese dishes... May be this is a cultural difference? In Hong Kong, I don't usually see hard-boiled eggs with too many dishes. Of course we have the tea eggs (which are made in similar ways)... but we eat eggs for the eggs and not necessarily accompanying some other dishes.

[hzrt8w]

hzrt -- What is the sugar content on the LKK marinade?  Also does the sliced sugar give the same sheen as rock sugar?

←

Not sure. Probably none (I couldn't taste it). I will look at the label when I get home. Yes I think that rock sugar would give the sauce some sheen.

←

The label did list sugar as an ingredient, but did not say how much. I don't think there is a whole lot of sugar in it though.

[Tepee]

Yeah, I have seen slices of hard-boiled eggs in many of the Straight-Chinese dishes...  May be this is a cultural difference?  In Hong Kong, I don't usually see hard-boiled eggs with too many dishes.  Of course we have the tea eggs (which are made in similar ways)... but we eat eggs for the eggs and not necessarily accompanying some other dishes.

←

Nothing 'straight' about them...in fact, the 'straits' (malaccan straits) chinese are mixed.

Oh, I didn't know that adding hard-boiled eggs wasn't a chinese-chinese thing to do. In Malaysia, eggs are added to a number of dishes, not necessarily chinese dishes.

[sheetz]

Nothing 'straight' about them...in fact, the 'straits' (malaccan straits) chinese are mixed.

At first I was also a little confused about the "Straight-Chinese" reference. Is this supposed to be some sort of heterosexual-Chinese cooking?

[hzrt8w]

Nothing 'straight' about them...in fact, the 'straits' (malaccan straits) chinese are mixed.

Oh, I didn't know that adding hard-boiled eggs wasn't a chinese-chinese thing to do. In Malaysia, eggs are added to a number of dishes, not necessarily chinese dishes.

←

Tepee: Thank you for "straitening" me out. I knew something looked funny but couldn't tell what it was. My eyes are not as good as they used to be...

I have seen sliced boiled eggs used in Indian home cooking. Would this be an Indian influence?

[Shalmanese]

I love making coca-cola chicken with just chicken wings. The sauce gets all thick from the gelatine. The next day, I take the left over sauce, scrape off all the fat and then use it as a base for noodles with some left over chicken and some green vegtables.

[torakris]

so the coca cola variation is everything else the same but with the coke in place of water?

tepee,

In Japan whole eggs are often added to braised meat dishes as well.... I do it quite often , it is like an extra side dish without the hassle.

[hzrt8w]

so the coca cola variation is everything else the same but with the coke in place of water?

←

Pretty much. But with coca-cola, you may want to boil off the sauce longer without the lid on so as to concentrate the sauce a bit before using it on your chicken.

[wonderbread]

Just made this with boneless chicken breasts - it came out fantastic. I usually don't cook breasts because they dry out so easily, but the dish came out juicy and delicious.

I was out of garlic, and just ended up throwing unpeeled ginger slices into the sauce.

Strained and froze the lo shui for the next chicken!

Thank you to Ah Leung again for posting this.