Prep time: 20 minutes + min 3h marinating time
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Servings: About 5

Chicken and Marinade

1. Chicken thighs x 9-10

   • This dish is normally made with a whole chicken, but everyone in my family's always fighting for the chicken legs, so I decided I might as well cook the entire dish with thighs!

   • You can cook it with a whole chicken if you want, but in that case, stuff some of the herbs into the chicken for better flavour.

2. Dark soy sauce x 2 tsp

3. Maple syrup (or sugar) x 2 tsp

4. Light soy sauce x 2 tsp

5. Shaoxing wine x 1 tbsp

6. Sesame oil x 2 tsp

Herbs

7. Yu Zhu (玉竹) x 10 pc

8. Bei Qi (北芪) x 10 pc

9. Chuan Gong (川芎) x 5 pc

   • This is bitter and very heaty. Do not put too much of this.

10. Red dates (红枣) x 10 pc

11. Wolfberry (枸杞子) x 1 tbsp

12. Huai Shan (淮山) x 8 pc

13. Dang Gui (当归) x 8 pc

14. Dang Shen (党参) x 6 pc

15. Optional: Ginseng (人参) x 6 pc

Soup Base

16. Swanson's chicken stock x 500ml

17. Water x 500ml

18. Ginger x 6 slices

19. Garlic x 1 head, peeled and smashed

20. Oyster sauce x 2 tbsp

21. Light soy sauce x 2 tsp

22. Dark soy sauce x 2 tsp

23. Shaoxing wine x 2 tbsp

24. Corn flour x 5 tbsp

25. Maple syrup or sugar to taste

Pressure cooker (this is my preferred method of cooking):

1. Marinate chicken in marinade overnight, or for at least 3 hours.

2. Rinse herbs in tap water.

3. Add all ingredients except the corn flour into a pressure cooker.

4. Select the "Chicken/Duck" setting and cook for 25 minutes.

5. Use the "Sauce Thickening" function to boil the contents.

6. Mix the corn flour into a slurry, then add it into the pot and stir immediately.

7. Taste the sauce and add light/dark soy sauce or maple syrup/sugar if necessary.

8. Serve warm with rice.

Stovetop + Thermal Pot:

1. Steps 1 and 2 from above remain the same.

2. Add all ingredients except the corn flour into a pot. Bring to a rolling boil, then lower the heat and cover the pot. Simmer on low heat for around 1 hour, then bring to a rolling boil again.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and place it into the thermal pot container. Let it cook inside the thermal pot for 2-3 hours, until the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender.

4. Put the pot back on the stove and bring to a boil.

5. Mix corn flour with water to form a slurry, then add it into the pot and stir immediately.

6. Add light/dark soy sauce, maple syrup sugar to taste.

7. Serve warm with rice.

1. Buy good herbs. The herbs are the thing that give this dish its character, and if you skimp on the herbs, it will show. Do not buy the prepacked ones. Those are usually lower quality. I buy my herbs individually from Chinese Medical Halls like Hockhua.

   • Generally, for all herbs, get at least the 2nd most expensive one, particularly for the Dang Gui and the Ginseng.

   • I usually shell out for the top grade Dang Gui for this recipe - it really makes a difference. Top grade Dang Gui will usually be cut on the spot for you. If it's already pre-cut, it's unlikely to be the quality you're looking for.

2. When you're more familiar with the herbs, you can adjust the herb combination to your family's liking. It doesn't have to follow the exact proportions I've set out!

3. I don't know of a good fully stovetop method for this dish. The meat has to be fall-off-the-bone tender, and stovetop cooking for me tends to be bit finicky in producing this result. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't, so I prefer to use one of the two methods outlined above.