Chinese Drunken Chicken
A traditional Chinese cold appetizer, this Chinese Drunken chicken recipe made with Shaoxing wine. It has amazing flavor and texture, and is simple to make.
- Prep time
- 24 hr
- Cook time
- 1 hr 25 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 chicken leg quarters
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2 large slices ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups of your homemade Chicken broth ((at room temperature))
- 1 1/2 cups shaoxing huadiao wine ((绍兴花雕酒))
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon dried goji berries/wolfberries
Instructions
- 1
Debone the chicken leg quarters, keeping the skin on. Keep the bones to make a homemade stock, which you’ll be using in this recipe. You might be able to ask your butcher to help you with this step!
- 2
In a small pot, add your reserved chicken bones, 2 ½ cups water, and ginger. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour (or longer). We’ll need 1 ½ cups of chicken broth for the recipe. You can also eliminate this step if you want to use store-bought chicken stock.
- 3
Rinse off your de-boned chicken and pat thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Grab 2 pieces of aluminum foil, each about 12” long. Lay each piece of chicken onto a piece of foil, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Roll up the chicken lengthwise, and then wrap in the foil, twisting both sides to form a candy-like bundle.
- 4
Steam the chicken in the foil over high heat for 20 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the steamer for another 5 minutes with the lid tightly closed.
- 5
Transfer the foil wrapped chicken to an ice bath, and let it sit there for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is completely cool. This step ensures that the juices remain locked in and improves the chicken’s overall texture.
- 6
Now it’s time to make the brine. In a non-reactive container (I used a glass loaf pan. Anything narrow and deep, where the chicken can remain submerged, will work), add the 1 ½ cups chicken broth, 1 ½ cups shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, and goji berries. Once the chicken is cool, unwrap the chicken and place in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.v
- 7
Slice and serve cold or at room temperature. This dish is usually served as a cold appetizer. Remember to store the chicken in the brine until serving and use clean utensil whenever coming contact with the brine and chicken. Consume the chicken within 3 days.
- 8
Note: We did this dish with equal parts wine and broth. You can change the ratio according to your own tastes, whether you like a stronger or lighter wine taste. But beware…upping the ratio of wine can make the chicken bitter, so proceed with caution.