Chicken in Soy Sauce

When I was young, I used to not able to stomach spicy food. Somehow, as I grew up, I learnt to stomach more and more spicy food. By the time I moved over to live independently, I even developed a fondness towards spicy food.

My least favorite thing to cook is chicken since I do not like them, but when someone requests them on their plate, I will not be reluctant to cook them. Instead, I would embrace their desires and make it for them.

This is a simple, spicy, sweet yet delicious dish.

Chicken in Soy sauce

Ingredients

500kg chicken

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

6 tbsp sweet soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

3 cloves

2 cardamoms

3 star anises

1 cinnamon stick

2 cups water

1 yellow onion / 2 shallots – peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic – peeled and sliced

3-inch ginger – peeled and sliced

4 bird’s eyes chilies – bruised

1 red chili – diagonally sliced

2 tbsp of tamarind juice (½ tbsp tamarind paste dissolved in 2 tbsp water)

½ tsp pepper

Salt – to taste

Sugar – to taste

Instructions

Clean the chicken and cut into large bite-sized chunk then pat dry. Marinade the chicken with dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce then leave it aside for at least 15 minutes.  

Heat up a wok then add about ¼ cup of cooking oil and sauté the cloves, cardamom, star anise and cinnamon stick until fragrant.

Add the sliced yellow onion / shallots, garlic and ginger and sauté until it is translucent.  

Add the chicken together with the sauces then stir-fry for about 1 minute. Pour in 1 cup of water and stir to combine well then cover the wok. Let the gravy simmer to let the chicken cook in the gravy for about 10 minutes over medium low heat. Stir occasionally.

Add the bird’s eyes chili, red chili, tamarind juice and pepper. Stir to combine well.

Finally, add another 1 cup of water and season with salt and sugar. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.

It is now ready to be served!