Soy sauce chicken (豉油雞) is a staple Cantonese dish celebrated for its silky texture, aromatic poaching broth, and deep savory-sweet glaze. This recipe is a quick homestyle skillet method of cooking soy chicken as compared to Chefs Lau Juiciest Soy sauce chicken.
Feature
The Ultimate Glossy Soy Sauce Chicken
Chef Lau's JUICIEST Whole Soy Sauce Chicken
Dish Style
Quick home-style skillet method
Traditional restaurant-style whole poached chicken
The Ultimate Glossy Soy Sauce Chicken: Ideal for weeknight dinners. Searing the cut-up chicken skin-first before simmering creates a rich, concentrated reduction that thickens into a glossy coating in under 30 minutes.
Chef Lau's Whole Soy Sauce Chicken: Focuses on classic Cantonese technique. Blanching the skin first tightens it to absorb color evenly, while low-heat poaching and an immediate ice-bag cooling technique deliver soft, tender meat with extra-juicy skin.
Carbohydrates: ~8g (mainly from sugar and soy sauce reduction)
Ingredients
Whole chicken or chicken leg quarters (cut into pieces)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tbsp rock sugar (or granulated sugar)
3 slices ginger
2 scallions (green onions), cut into sections
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 star anise
1 cup water or chicken broth
Cooking oil
Instructions
Prepare the chicken: Clean and pat dry the chicken pieces thoroughly.
Aromatics: Heat a small amount of oil in a pot over medium heat. Add ginger, scallions, garlic, and star anise, stir-frying until fragrant.
Brown & Simmer: Add the chicken pieces and lightly sear the skin. Pour in Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, and water.
Baste & Cook: Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low-medium heat for 15–20 minutes, turning and basting the chicken occasionally to coat it evenly in the rich sauce.
Thicken & Serve: Remove the lid and increase the heat slightly to reduce the sauce until it forms a thick, glossy glaze over the chicken. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve hot over steamed rice.
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Stop Eating Dry Chicken: The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant-Quality Chicken Breast
Stop Eating Dry Chicken: The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant-Quality Chicken Breast
We’ve all been there: staring down a piece of chicken breast on our plate that looks more like a beige eraser than a succulent dinner. For generations, dry, stringy chicken has been the unfortunate standard for home cooks.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
According to professional chef and culinary instructor Frank Proto, making a perfectly juicy chicken breast is essentially "Chicken Breast 101" [00:12 Opens in a new window ]. With a little bit of knowledge and the right technique, you can say goodbye to dry dinners forever. Here is the ultimate guide to cooking restaurant-quality chicken right in your own kitchen.
1. Prep for Success (Drop the Meat Mallet)
The first mistake most people make is uneven cooking. When a chicken breast has a thick end and a thin end, the thin end dries out before the thick end is even safe to eat.
Slice, Don't Pound: Instead of reaching for a meat mallet (which can result in overcooking later), place your hand flat on the chicken and carefully slice it horizontally right down the center [00:46 Opens in a new window ]. This gives you two evenly sized cutlets.
Dry it Off: Moisture is the enemy of a good sear. Pat your chicken completely dry with a paper towel before it hits the pan [01:36 Opens in a new window ].
Keep Seasoning Simple: Skip the complex spice rubs; they tend to burn in a hot skillet [01:26 Opens in a new window ]. Stick to a generous, high-altitude sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to ensure even distribution [01:54 Opens in a new window ].
2. The Art of the Sear
For this method, step away from your beloved cast iron.
If you are going to make a pan sauce (and you definitely should), you want to use a heavy-bottomed stainless steel sauté pan [02:14 Opens in a new window ]. Cast iron can transfer unwanted flavors into your delicate sauce, while thin pans will give you burnt and undercooked spots.
The Right Oil: Use a neutral, high-smoke-point oil (like vegetable or canola oil). Fancy olive oils will just burn and lose their flavor anyway [02:59 Opens in a new window ].
Drop Away from You: Once your oil is shimmering and lightly smoking, carefully drop the chicken into the pan away from your body to prevent hot oil splatters [03:18 Opens in a new window ].
Leave It Alone: Let the pan do the work. Don't constantly flip or poke the meat. You are looking for a beautiful, golden-brown crust [03:53 Opens in a new window ].
3. The "Bounce" Test & Carryover Cooking
How do you know when it's done? While the FDA recommends 165°F, Chef Frank pulls his chicken at around 150°F to 155°F [05:17 Opens in a new window ].
Why? Because of carryover cooking. When you remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest on a rack, the internal temperature will continue to rise to that safe 165°F mark. If you cook it to 165°F in the pan, it will be overcooked by the time you eat it [05:25 Opens in a new window ].
Pro-tip: You can test the doneness by poking the meat. It should transform from soft and spongy (raw) to firm with a nice "spring back" or bounciness [04:30 Opens in a new window ].
4. Build a Phenomenal Pan Sauce
While your chicken rests and retains all those wonderful juices, it’s time to use the fond—those caramelized, flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom of your stainless steel pan [06:40 Opens in a new window ].
Sauté Aromatics: Add a little fresh oil, finely diced shallots, and garlic until lightly browned [07:04 Opens in a new window ].
Deglaze & Reduce: Pour in chicken stock (and any juices that have pooled under your resting chicken!). Let it aggressively simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until it reduces by half and the bubbles become larger and thicker [07:57 Opens in a new window ].
Mount with Butter: Turn the heat down and swirl in a knob of butter. This classic French technique (monter au beurre) emulsifies the sauce, making it rich and creamy [08:41 Opens in a new window ].
Finish Bright: Take it off the heat and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and chopped parsley for brightness and color [09:12 Opens in a new window ].
5. Plate Like a Pro
If you want to impress, slice your rested chicken breast on a long bias to show off how juicy the interior is.
When plating, pour your pan sauce on the bottom of the plate, not over the top of the meat [10:42 Opens in a new window ]. Pouring sauce over the top will completely ruin that gorgeous, crispy crust you just worked so hard to achieve!
Try this method tonight, and you'll never look at chicken breast the same way again.
#Juicy chicken breast recipe #Restaurant-quality chicken #Pan-seared chicken breast #Epicurious chicken recipe
#Chicken breast pan sauce #How to cook chicken in a stainless steel pan #Carryover cooking chicken #Chef Frank Proto recipes
#How to cook chicken without drying it out #Stop dry chicken #Easy chicken dinner ideas #Best chicken breast cooking method
2 ½ lbs. Skinless and Boneless Chicken Breast cut into bite size pieces
1 cup Plain Whole Milk Yogurt
Juice of one Lemon
1 ½ teaspoon Turmeric
1 ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
For the Sauce:
2 ounces Butter
1 Large Onion diced
1 Small Jalapeno Pepper cut into small dice
1 tablespoon Garlic finely diced
1 teaspoon of Red Kashmiri Chili Powder
½ teaspoon Turmeric
1 Large Can Peeled and Seeded Tomatoes
¾ cup Chicken Stock
½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger grated
1 ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
1 ½ teaspoon Salt
Sauté the Chicken:
2 ounces Butter plus 2 ounces at the end
1 cup Cashews
1 tablespoon Dried Fenugreek Leaves
2 tablespoons Cilantro freshly chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Garam Masala (make it or buy already ground):
Using a coffee grinder, process all ingredients until finely ground
Marinate the Chicken:
Mix all ingredients and let marinade IN THE FRIDGE for 2 to 3 hours or a minimum of 30 minutes if you do not have a couple hours.
For the Sauce:
In a saucepan, heat the butter and sauté the onion until light golden brown. Add the Jalapeno, Chili powder, and garlic, and when fragrant add all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce the heat and cook it very slowly for at least 30 to 45 minutes uncovered. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, process until very smooth. Stain to a double mech strainer and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Sauté the Chicken:
In a large frying pan, heat a couple ounces of butter, when light golden brown, take the chicken out of the fridge and sauté until golden brown on all sides.
Add the strained sauce on top and cook for another 10 minutes or until all the chicken is cooked.
At the end add the fenugreek, and cilantro and at the last minute add more butter.
Whether you are cooking for the holidays or just your regular weekend dinner. These are the steps that you need to do in making the perfect juiciest and crispiest roast chicken.
1. First choose the best chicken size that would fit not only your budget but also the number of people eating.
2. Dry the skin to eliminate moisture. Drying the skin ensures crispier skin after cooking. Plus drying the skin would ensure that any dry rub would stick to the skin better.
3. Season your chicken depending on your own personal choice or recipe.
4. Poke holes in the chicken using toothpick or meat tenderizer spikes. Poking holes would let water and chicken oil get out of the chicken while cooking making it tastier and crispier.
5.Dry brine by letting it rest in the refrigerator for 8 hours. After resting in the refrigerator for 8 hours let it stand in the open air for an hour before cooking.
6. preheat oven to 200 deg celsius (400 deg Farenheit)
7. Do trussing or tying up the chicken so your chicken evenly cooks.
8. In cooking the chicken we prefer to cook it under lower heat of 150 deg. celsius(302 deg F). initially for 45 minutes before turning up the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for the last 15mins. We believe that this allows the chicken to cook slowly and for the chicken to retain its juices and tenderness and prevents it from getting dry. Turning up the temperature in the last 15 minutes will make the skin crispy.
9. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.
