Recipe – Drunken Chicken in Shaoxing Wine

Hello world! Happy Wednesday! I haven’t been feeling well these few days. Drank a cup of soya milk and I have been having tummy upset. But good lah, I can take a break from all the eating.

Last week, I shared the recipe on salted egg butter prawns. Today, I am sharing a super simple recipe on Drunken Chicken in Shaoxing Wine. If you have followed my cooking journey closely, you should have realized I love anything with shaoxing wine. It is just like how much I love truffle oil.

Drunken Chicken in Shaoxing Wine is a popular dish in Shanghainese restaurants. Make sure the chicken is put in ice water after cooking so that it will be tender and firm. This recipe is quite easy but it requires a long time because the chicken has to be steeped in the soup and stored in the fridge for at least 6 hours (best overnight) so as to absorb the essence. Note that this is served chilled.

Drunken Chicken in Shaoxing Wine
Adapted from Taste Hong Kong

Ingredients
8 medium sized chicken wings
1 tsp wolfberries, steep in water for 5 minutes and drain dry
1/3 cup Shaoxing wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups ice water plus some ice

Marinade Chicken
1 tsp salt

For boiling chicken
2 sprigs spring onions
3-4 slices ginger
1.5 liters water

Method
1. Thaw (if required), wash and drain dry chicken wings. Then marinade them with salt for about half an hour.

2. In a pot, add chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, salt, wolfberries and bring to a simmer. Stir to make sure sugar and salt are dissolved, and remove from heat. Let it cool, add wine and mix well.

3. Slightly crush the ginger slices and spring onions and put them into a pot with 1.5 liters water. Bring water to the boil.

4. Drop chicken wings into the boiling water and cover. Cook until the water boils up again. Turn flame to the lowest and keep boiling for another one minute. Then turn off heat. Allow the chicken wings to sit in the hot water for 30 minutes.

5. Have the ice water and ice ready. Remove (and strain) chicken wings from the pot of hot water and submerge them in it for a 10 minutes or till they are cool.

6. Drain dry chicken wings from the ice water. Place them in a bottle or a big bowl, making sure that the soup have covered the chicken wings completely. If you are using a bowl, covered it with cling wrap. Chill in fridge overnight before serving.