I was charmed when my uncle bought a small Chinese teacup to measure the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar for this recipe. He typically browns a whole chicken in the wok which requires skill to do. I prefer to use chicken breasts or legs. The Sichuan peppercorns must be dry-roasted in a work for a few minutes to bring out their flavor and then crushed before being cooked.

Recipe courtesy of Grace Young and Alan Richardson

Show: Sara's Secrets

Episode: The Wok

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Total:: 25 min
Prep:: 5 min
Cook:: 20 min

Yield:: 4 servings

Level:: Easy

Ingredients

3 whole star anise
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoons peanut oil
4 whole chicken legs or 4 small breast halves on the bone (about 2 pounds)
3 medium garlic cloves, smashed
6 slices ginger
1/2 cup homemade chicken broth

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the star anise, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and rice wine. Set aside.

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes with 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the oil and carefully add the chicken skin side down, spreading it in the wok. Cook, undisturbed 3 to 4 minutes, adjusting the heat between medium and medium-high to let the chicken brown.

Add the garlic and ginger. Then, using a metal spatula, turn the chicken over, and pan-fry 3 to 4 minutes, or until the chicken is browned but not cooked through. Stir the soy sauce mixture, and swirl it into the wok. Turn the chicken over. It should be golden brown. Swirl the broth into the wok, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook 8 minutes for the legs or 5 minutes for the breast.

Recipe courtesy Grace Young and Alan Richardson, The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Secrets of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore, Simon and Schuster, 2004

My Private Notes

Name: Uncle Lang's Three Teacup Chicken
Prep time: P0Y0M0DT0H5M0.000S
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H20M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT0H25M0.000S
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 whole star anise; 1/4 cup soy sauce; 1/4 cup rice vinegar; 1/4 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry; 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil; 4 whole chicken legs or 4 small breast halves on the bone (about 2 pounds); 3 medium garlic cloves, smashed; 6 slices ginger; 1/2 cup homemade chicken broth

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Uncle Lang's Three Teacup Chicken

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