Drunken chicken is an unusual recipe that’s perfect for any time of year, but it’s particularly popular in the warmer months since it’s served cold. It’s juicy, cold, and soaked in wine. Slices of chicken are poached, soaked in a soothing chicken broth, and finished with Shaoxing rice wine. This also makes this the perfect recipe if you’re feeling sick. It’s a versatile recipe –– home chefs can use a whole chicken, just dark meat, or just white meat. This is the ultimate alternative to cold soup for those looking to cool down on a hot day.
The chicken is soaked in wine until it’s removed from its bath and plated. The marinating liquid is 50% rice wine and 50% chicken broth, so you probably won’t enjoy this recipe if you’re not a fan of either. The juicy chicken flesh is simply dripping with what has been described by many as a chicken cocktail, and the meat is imbued with such an alcoholic flavor that if you eat a lot, you might end up getting a little buzzed.
A popular addition to Chinese meals, drunken chicken is served cold before warm dishes like stir-fries are brought out. However, there’s no reason this should be exclusively served as an appetizer. As exotic as it sounds, this recipe is extremely easy to whip up. If you can make a roast chicken, you can make this!
Just poach your chicken, cut it up, and dip it in the broth it was cooked in, plus some wine. This chicken can soak in the special marinade for days, enhancing the alcoholic-tasting nature of this dish. You can either keep the marinade as simple as possible or jazz up that wine flavor with white peppercorns, sugar, cloves, or star anise.
To start, take your chicken and a piece of ginger, and add them to a saucepan. Pour in enough cold water so that it just barely grazes your chicken. Bring this mix to a simmer before reducing the heat to low. It should be mixed until the chicken is fully cooked. Once it is, it should be transferred to a bowl. Pour chicken broth over it and let it cool.
Finally, chicken can be chopped into 1-inch pieces. The container should be able to fit all the chicken pieces, but be sure not to stuff it in –– place the pieces gently instead. Finally, season it with a sprinkle of salt. Finally, combine the rest of the chicken broth and wine, pouring it over the meat until it’s fully covered. Now, it’s marinating time. It only takes a total of 30 minutes to whip up but requires 24 hours of marinating at the minimum, so be sure to prep this recipe the day before.
Use it as a cold component in a salad, experiment with different kinds of alcohol, or eat it on its own! Either way, there are tons of ways to experiment and make drunken chicken your own.