Soy-Braised Red Cooked Chicken
Tender bone-in chicken thighs braised in a savory, aromatic soy and ginger reduction.
Recipe Author
Riff Kitchen@riffkitchen
Soy-Braised Red Cooked Chicken
Tender bone-in chicken thighs braised in a savory, aromatic soy and ginger reduction.
By Riff KitchenOn Riff.kitchen, recipes start from what is already in your fridge. Add what you have, and it plans around whatever goes off first.
- 10 prep · 25 cook
- 35 min
- servings
- 4
- effort
- Easy
Chef's note
The combination of soy sauce, ginger, and star anise creates a classic, deeply savory flavor profile that tastes like it cooked for hours in minutes.
Method
7 steps · tap one to tick it off
Tips
Use dark soy for color, light for salt. Dark soy sauce is thicker and less salty and gives the deep red-brown; the regular soy brings most of the seasoning.
Spoon the sauce over as it reduces. Basting the skin while the liquid thickens gives each piece an even, lacquered glaze.
Watch the last minutes of reducing. With brown sugar in it, the sauce goes from glossy to burnt quickly. Stir and lower the heat as it thickens.
Swaps
No shaoxing rice wine? Dry sherry, the same amount, the usual stand-in.
No dark soy sauce? An extra spoon of regular soy sauce with a little molasses for the color. Slightly saltier.
No star anise? A pinch of Chinese five-spice powder, which contains star anise.
Storage
Fridge: 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. The sauce sets to a jelly when cold and melts back as it warms.
Freezer: 2 to 3 months for best quality. Freeze the chicken in its sauce so it does not dry out.
Reheat: In a covered pan over medium-low heat, turning the pieces in the sauce, until steaming hot (75°C in the center).
Fridge and reheating follow Illinois Extension; freezer times are for quality and follow the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as on what freezes and what does not.
Made it?
Tap a star to rate it.
Ask the chef
Swap something, change the servings, or ask why a step works
Riff Assistant
Ready to Remix
Community Reviews 0
No reviews yet. Be the first to try this!
Chef's note
The combination of soy sauce, ginger, and star anise creates a classic, deeply savory flavor profile that tastes like it cooked for hours in minutes.
Instructions
Follow the steps to perfection.
Tips
Use dark soy for color, light for salt. Dark soy sauce is thicker and less salty and gives the deep red-brown; the regular soy brings most of the seasoning.
Spoon the sauce over as it reduces. Basting the skin while the liquid thickens gives each piece an even, lacquered glaze.
Watch the last minutes of reducing. With brown sugar in it, the sauce goes from glossy to burnt quickly. Stir and lower the heat as it thickens.
Swaps
No shaoxing rice wine? Dry sherry, the same amount, the usual stand-in.
No dark soy sauce? An extra spoon of regular soy sauce with a little molasses for the color. Slightly saltier.
No star anise? A pinch of Chinese five-spice powder, which contains star anise.
Storage
Fridge: 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. The sauce sets to a jelly when cold and melts back as it warms.
Freezer: 2 to 3 months for best quality. Freeze the chicken in its sauce so it does not dry out.
Reheat: In a covered pan over medium-low heat, turning the pieces in the sauce, until steaming hot (75°C in the center).
Fridge and reheating follow Illinois Extension; freezer times are for quality and follow the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as on what freezes and what does not.
Made it?
Tap a star to rate it.
Community Reviews 0
No reviews yet. Be the first to try this!
Riff Assistant
Ready to Remix