Claypot Sesame Oil Chicken (砂煲麻油鸡)

Claypot Sesame Oil Chicken is one dish that I will cook almost every week because it simply goes very well with white rice or plain porridge.Cooked in a claypot, the fragrance of the sesame oil with ginger and spring onions gives the chicken an unique aroma and taste.My kids love this dish very much when they have the rich gravy to go with their rice and at the same time, they also have these succulent chicken wings and drumlets.

There could be many ways of cooking Sesame Oil Chicken which everyone has their own likes and recipes.The recipe that i am sharing here, came from my observation of my mum's cooking when i was young. I've modified the recipe by adding in star anise and shaoxing wine which gives the dish an addition of aroma to it.

Adjust the saltiness by varying the amount of dark soy sauce and oyster sauce.I added sugar to balance the dish and a slight sweetness to the gravy.

The chicken has to be braised until it is soft and fall off the bone, until the aroma of the gravy is infused into the chicken.With a bowl of white rice or porridge, it makes a wonderful and delicious dish for the family.


Recipe(Prep 10 mins, Cooking time 25 mins)
(Serves 3-4)


Ingredients:

• 320g chicken whole chicken wings(4 pieces)
• 7g ginger(slice)
• 2g star anise
• 1 stalk spring onion

Marinade(Chicken wings):

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Seasonings:

• 250ml water
• 1tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp caramel dark soy sauce

**1 tsp shaoxing wine(to be added in step 6)
**1tsp sugar(to be added in step 6)


Steps:

1)Divide chicken wing joints into winglets and drumlets. Marinade wings and drumlets for 2-3 hours.
Just before cooking, add in 1 tsp corn flour to the chicken.

2)Heat claypot with 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Add in ginger slices and star anise, stir fry till fragrant.

3)Add in wings/drumlets and stir fry till the chicken is browned on both sides.

4)Add in seasonings and bring the mixture to a boil. The seasonings and water mixture should slightly cover all the chicken in the claypot.

5)Bring the mixture to boil and then lower heat to medium low and simmer for about 25 mins until gravy is thickened and the chicken takes on a dark brown and even colour.

6)Add in 1 tsp sugar and 1tsp shaoxing wine. Let it cook for a further 1 minute and turn off heat.

7)To serve, sprinkle chopped spring onions over the chicken.