Three-Cup Chicken

You know those meals that leave you stunned and speechless and psychotically gleeful?

THIS.

This. This! THIS! t h i s.

You’re hesitant, I can tell. But I will change you.

First of all, there’s this show. This Netflix docu-style food show that Aaron and I recently discovered and are just loony over. It’s called Ainsley Eats the Streets – do you watch it? Have you seen it? Dude is so fun and so charming and so lovable and SO WELL FED. He basically travels all over the globe and dives into street food culture. It’s incredibly interesting, and visually sickening. All that STREET FOOD. And like, weird ish. Quail eggs stuffed into tiny octopus head bodies on a stick.

Guys.

But I didn’t make you that, so simmer down already.

I made you Three-Cup Chicken! Which I didn’t even know was a thing, until we watched this one episode  thirteen hundred billion times (when he was in Taipei, Taiwan) so that I could watch every single thing he put into this wildy-simple yet crazy flavor-town meal.

You’re going to obsess, promise.

Okay look:

And let just say, I winged (wang? ew, no) this. I didn’t google any recipes because I wanted mine to be purely based on what I watched and absorbed. At least close. Because you know they just willy nilly all that street food. Which is my steez.

But you guys, this recipe is EASY. It’s really all about the three sauces that bloom up and party all over that chicken, creating a deep, dark, sticky result in the end that is NUTSO good.

You start by searing some THAHS in sesame oil.

And oh, I kept it simple for you – 4 Tbs. of each sauce. Enough to coat and caress, but not drown the chicken.

You’ll add thinly sliced ginger and big chunks of garlic cloves to the pan. Your life is taking a new turn and you will not be upset about it.

Then you’ll add mirin (cooking rice wine), and soy sauce and let it reduce and bubble and thicken and stickify into a glorious pan of OMG. Throw in some Thai basil and thinly sliced hot red Thai peppers (I think mine are technically Fresno, but it was all I could find, and I’m still a good person.)

Let it go another five while the basil and peppers infuse that mess a little bit more.

And that’s IT. Have some cooked jasmine rice on hand, along with more basil, peppers and chopped scallions, and get ready to absolutely lose your mind over this.

It’s sweet. It’s savory. It’s sticky and luscious and other-worldly.

The meal’s pretty good, too.

(ba domp?)

If you’re worried about the heat, just don’t garnish with peppers! The others that go in will mellow out and add depth, but not a ton of heat. I like my face to rain though, so.

I BEG you to try this. After one bite Aaron and I were completely cuckoo. And the gremlins even liked it! Well, sans peppers and heavy on the rice.

But I’ll take it.

This is your new life. Trust meh.

Three-Cup Thai Chicken

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Ingredients

• 22 oz chicken thighs, trimmed of any excess fat
• 1-2 Tbs. thinly sliced ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, cut into large chunks
• 1 Tbs. brown sugar
• 4 Tbs. sesame oil
• 4 Tbs. mirin (cooking rice wine)
• 4 Tbs. soy sauce
• One Thai pepper, thinly sliced
• About a cup of Thai basil leaves
• Cooked Jasmine rice
• A few scallions, chopped
• A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Heat the sesame oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with a pinch of salt and sear all over until you get some nice darkening, about 8 minutes. About five minutes in, add the garlic and ginger and continue to sauté, until the garlic and ginger being to soften.
2. Then add the mirin, soy sauce and brown sugar; bring the heat down to a simmer and let it bubble and reduce for another 5-10 minutes. Then throw in a few pepper slices and half the basil, cover and let reduce another minute or so. Keep turning the chicken so that it’s coated in allll that sticky glory.
3. Once it’s reduced and almost syrupy, you’re done! Serve with jasmine rice, chopped scallions, extra peppers and Thai basil.
4. Your new life awaits you.
5. Serves 4!

7.8.1.2

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https://bevcooks.com/2018/03/three-cup-chicken/

I mean….