Chinese Soy Sauce Chicken is a Hong Kong style Cantonese cuisine that belongs to one of the many “lou mei”. Likewise, they make these dishes by braising meat in soy sauce. Together with seasoning and spices called “lou” sauce or master stock. The most common types of “lou mei” are pork, duck, chicken and beef. Besides, they often serve “lou mei” at Cantonese restaurants or food stalls. Whereby, they display all the “lou mei” meat in a glass panel. Other types of “lou mei” include white cut chicken, orange cuttlefish and poached duck in master stock.
Moreover, they often sell “lou mei” together with “siu mei”. Including Cantonese barbecue roasted meat like char siu, roasted pork and roasted duck. All these Cantonese style cooked meats, comprise of “siu mei” and “lou mei”. As well as preserved meats like beef brisket, chicken giblets, duck gizzard, pig’s tongue and beef entrails. Together, they are all classified as “siu laap”.
Gluten Free Chinese Soy Sauce Chicken
Amongst all these “siu laap” dishes, Chinese soy sauce chicken is the easiest to replicate. You can cook this dish at home with minimum fuss. This braised soy sauce chicken is an example of red cooking. A slow braising Chinese cooking technique used, also called red stewing. Chicken cooked with this method is very tasty and juicy and falls off the bones easily.
For my gluten free Chinese Soy Sauce Chicken recipe. I marinated the chicken with ginger and spring onion paste. Then I cooked the chicken in a gluten free soy sauce braising sauce. Likewise, I made the braising sauce with extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil and gluten free kecap manis. As well as medium dry sherry, honey, salt and spices like star anise, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Served with blanched bok choy and steamed basmati rice.
Chinese Soy Sauce Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.8 kg whole free range chicken fat trimmed
- 3 bunches bok choy washed and cut into halves
- Steamed basmati rice to serve
For the Braising Sauce:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- 1⅔ cup gluten free kecap manis
- 3 large star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 cloves
- 1 cup medium dry sherry
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 5 cups water
For the Ginger and Spring Onion Paste:
- 300 g fresh ginger peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 6 spring onions (shallots) sliced into 1 inch lengthwise
For the Garnish:
- 3 sprigs coriander including stems, roughly tear into 2 cm (0.8 inch) lengthwise
Instructions
For the ginger and spring onion paste:
- Blend ginger and spring onion (shallots) into the food processor until you get a rough paste. Set aside 3 tablespoons for marinating the chicken. Reserve the rest of the paste for braising the chicken.
For braising the chicken:
- Clean and wash the chicken, fat trimmed from under skin near the top and bottom of cavity. Then rub the chicken skin and cavity with 3 tablespoons of the ginger and spring onion (shallots) paste set aside in step 1 above.
- Mix all the ingredients for the braising sauce together in a small bowl except the water.
- Using a large stock pot that will just fit a whole chicken, add in the braising sauce and the rest of the ginger and spring onion (shallots) paste and bring to a boil.
- Then submerge the whole chicken with breast side down into the pot followed by adding 5 cups of water and bring to a boil again. Once its boiling, turn the heat down to low, cover with lid and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over once or twice and ensure that it cooks for the same amount of time on both sides. Turn off the heat.
- Let the chicken rest in the pot for another 10 minutes.
- Cautiously remove the chicken and place on a plate to rest and cool.
- Reserve 1½ cup of the braising sauce by pouring the sauce through a fine sieve into a measuring cup.
For cooking the bok choy:
- Heat up a medium pot half filled with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and briefly blanch the bok choy together with the extra virgin olive oil for 1 minute or until the bok choy turns bright green in colour.
- Add the cooked bok choy to a serving plate.
For serving the chicken:
- Cut the chicken into quarters and remove the chicken meat from the bones carefully. Next, cut the boneless chicken quarters into bite size pieces.
- Place the boneless chicken pieces on top of the bok choy on the serving plate. Drizzle some of the reserved braising sauce onto the chicken pieces and garnish with coriander.
- Serve the chicken with steamed basmati rice.
Oh my goodness, I NEED to make this! Sounds lovely, and I am sure my husband will love it!
Enjoy your meal! Bon Appetit to you and your husband 🙂
Oh wow – that looks and sounds wonderful! I must get me husband to grow some more bok choy in our allotment this year 🙂
I love bok choy and how fantastic to grow your own organic bok choy. I will look into doing that myself 🙂