The original version of this recipe – which includes one cup each of rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil – went viral in 2020 for how easy it is to make and how absolutely delicious it is. My family has food allergies, but I didn’t want to miss out! So, I subbed coconut aminos for the soy sauce and pre-cubed chicken breasts for the bone-in chicken thighs, omitted the sugar (I find coconut aminos to be sweet enough) and used the white wine I had on hand instead of rice wine. This truly tastes like takeout from the best takeout joint in town – and if you make the freezer meal version, it’s as simple as emptying the contents into a saute pan and cooking the chicken through. Serve over rice with some fresh basil if you have it. Perfection!
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Equipment
- Saute pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sesame oil (check that it's pure sesame, no soy)
- 1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 10 whole peeled garlic cloves
- 4 green onions, trimmed and sliced (white and green parts)
- salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
- 1 cup dry white wine or rice wine
- 1 cup coconut aminos
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
- Add ginger, garlic and green onions, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and cook through until lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add wine and coconut aminos and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium low (keeping liquid at a simmer).
- Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half.
- Remove to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon, serving extra sauce on the side.
- Garnish with basil and more red pepper flakes and serve over white rice.
To make it a freezer meal:
- Place all ingredients listed above plus one extra tbsp of sesame oil into a freezer bag or other freezer-safe container, seal, move ingredients around until chicken is coated, and freeze for up to three months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator, pour into a saute pan and cook until chicken is cooked through and registers 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.
3 thoughts on “My Most Popular Recipe Ever: Three-Cup Chicken”
Just checking that you really use 8 oz of sesame oil?? It comes in such a small bottle, it’s only 5 oz to start with! Plus, it’s such a strong flavor, I can’t see adding more than 2 TBSP into this recipe. Let me know if I’m reading this recipe right! Can’t wait to make it!!
Oh my goodness, Amy, I’m so glad you noticed this! You’re correct, that measurement should be 2 tbsp of sesame oil. I’m updating it now! I usually use a little more if I’m mixing up the sauce for the freezer meal version – maybe 3 tbsp total. I’ll update that too, in case you’re making the freezer meal version. Thank you for your input – let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Delish!!