FOODlog #247: Drunken Chicken

The other day my colleague cooked a Chinese dish called 'Drunken Chicken' for lunch. It was a dish that he remembered his mum cooked for him when he was young and he helped out making it. 20 years later he now tried to make it as how he remembered it.

He marinated the chicken with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and shaoxing wine which is a type of Chinese cooking wine.

The dish starts with sauteing some sliced ginger in oil. Once it's fragrant, add in some minced garlic and dried shiitaki mushrooms. The shiitaki mushrooms have been sliced thinly so they cook well and evenly easier.

The chicken goes in next and cooked for about 5 minutes on high heat. After that, cover the pan and let it cook on low heat for 10 minutes in it's own juices.

Add in some water after that and if needed, more soy sauce or salt for seasoning and cover for another 10 minutes till the chicken is fully cooked.

This dish has such a wonderful balance of sweetness from the cooking wine, saltiness from the soy sauce, earthiness from the mushrooms and such delicious savory flavors from the chicken. A delicious dish and especially good with rice.