Three
Cup Chicken三杯雞 (san-1 bei-1 ji-1)
A classic Taiwanese dish that is simply pungent. The three cups refer
to one each of sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce.
Serves 5–6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 kg (2.2 Ib) chicken, chopped into bite-size chunks
10 cloves garlic, crushed
10 slices ginger
1 cup sesame oil
1 cup Taiwan rice wine
1 cup soy sauce
A few stalks fresh oriental basil
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
2 chilli peppers, roughly chopped (optional)
Method
In a clay pot or casserole dish, brown chicken in vegetable
oil.
Add garlic and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add sesame oil, rice wine and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Place basil on top of
chicken, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Remove chicken, minus liquid, to a serving dish. Serve
with white rice.
Notes
Don't be tempted to skimp on seasonings – this dish is meant to pack a punch.
And don't simmer much longer than 20 minutes or the chicken will start to
resemble salty hunks of leather.
China is the world's
leading rice producer (followed by India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam,
and Thailand). 186.73 million metric tons was harvested in 2004. In
2003 China exported 2.597 million metric tons of rice, making it the
5th largest exporter. China trails Thailand at number one, then India,
Vietnam and the United States.
