In all her long years of cooking for our extended family, my grandma had come up with countless little variations and tweaks to her recipes that it would be impossible for me to reproduce all her cooking knowledge, but nonetheless, this is one such variation that I’ve hopefully managed to reproduce.
Following the first version of this ginger soy chicken dish that you can find over here, this recipe is another version that offers a slight twist from the original, but still retains the same pure chicken essence, just with more depth of flavor that is less soupy and more concentrated.
The main differences are that the chicken is marinated with slightly different ingredients, and pan seared over high heat to bring out more aroma and give it a slightly different texture, creating a golden brown exterior that locks in the juices and flavor. There is also an additional sauce mixture that is added to the mix, with the initial sear followed by a slow simmer in the sauce, allowing the chicken to soak up all the delicious flavors. The final dish is intended to be more saucy than soupy, acting as the perfect complement to white rice.
The sauce mixture is a harmonious blend of light soy sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine, and oyster sauce. It strikes the perfect balance between sweet, salty, and umami flavors, coating each piece of chicken in a luscious glaze that’s impossible to resist.
The end result is a tender chicken, infused with rich and savory sauce, and met with the freshness of ginger and the subtle tang of the onions, creating a perfect balance that leaves a lasting impression of delightful hometown nostalgia that I hope to pass on down to my kids as well. So let’s get to it!
Watch How To Make It
Grandma’s Ginger Soy Chicken v.2
Ingredients
- 2 whole chicken legs
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch ginger sliced
- 2 green onions
Sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
Instructions
- Chop the chicken and marinate with Shaoxing wine, pepper, salt and cornstarch for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan, then fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Add the chicken and pan sear it over high heat for 1 minute or until golden brown.
- Reduce the heat, add in the sauce and green onion (white part). Cover the pan and let it simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Once done, add in the green onions (green part), give it a stir and serve!