Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken
User Reviews
5
Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken
Description
The recipe begins by combining a whole skin-on chicken with a mixture of Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar, black vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and neutral cooking oil in a slow cooker or a stove-top pot. Slow cooking on low for about 8 hours (or simmering for 1.5 to 2 hours) renders the chicken tender enough to shred easily, with meat falling off the bone.
Shredding the chicken includes the skin, which after cooking provides rich flavor. The shredded chicken is then crisped in batches in a hot pan with added braising liquid, producing browned, crispy bits while retaining juiciness inside. The crispy texture combined with the flavorful sauce makes this dish satisfying and different from typical shredded chicken.
This preparation is suitable for a family meal, yielding about 10 servings. The recipe notes highlight availability of Chinese cooking wine and recommend crushing garlic cloves for better flavor release, as well as the technique of browning just one side to combine crispness and juiciness in the final dish.
Ingredients
- 3 - 4 lb / 1.5 - 2 kg chicken skin on, whole
- 2 1/2 cups Chinese cooking wine (or sherry) (see notes)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (or substitute with white sugar)
- 1/4 cup black vinegar (or substitute with malt vinegar, or white vinegar. Don't use balsamic)
- 1 1/4 cups soy sauce or substitute with 3/4 cup ordinary soy sauce + 1/2 cup water + 1 tsp salt, light
- 3 tbsp ginger no need to peel, coarsely chopped
- 4 garlic crushed (not minced - see notes, cloves
- 3 tbsp neutral cooking oil vegetable, peanut or canola, generic cooking oil
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Place all ingredients except the oil in slow cooker.
- Slow cook on low for 8 hours.
Stove Top
- Place all ingredients except the oil in a pot in which the chicken fits quite snugly but not tightly (you don't want the sides of the chicken pressed up tightly against the wall of the pot).
- Put lid on and bring to boil over high heat. Turn heat down to low and let it simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone.
Shredding and Crisping
- Remove chicken from braising liquid.
- Shred with your hands or two forks, including the skin. The meat should fall off very easily.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil over high heat in a large heavy based fry pan.
- Add chicken (enough to cover the pan without crowding it) and drizzle over braising liquid.
- Cook until the underside is browned and crispy (about 1 1/2 minutes), then remove from the pan. Don't flip the chicken (see notes).
- Repeat with remaining chicken (it takes me 3 batches).
- Serve with rice, on rice stick noodles or on a salad with the remaining braising liquid on the side. It is also great in fried rice.
To Store
- This freezes really well, before or after browning the chicken. Just divide into freezer bags, label then freeze. If you froze it before browning the chicken, then brown it after thawing.
Notes
- Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) is commonly found at Asian grocery stores at economical prices.
- Garlic cloves should be crushed, not minced, by smashing with the side of a knife to release flavor and make peeling easier.
- Crisp only one side of the shredded chicken in the pan to retain juiciness while creating a crunchy texture.
- The recipe yields about 10 servings, and nutrition information considers all fat including from the braising liquid.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 10-12
Amount Per Serving
Calories 440 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 286g | |
| Calories | 440cal | 22% |
| Carbohydrates | 15g | 5% |
| Protein | 60.2g | 120% |
| Fat | 10.3g | 16% |
| Saturated Fat | 2.5g | 13% |
| Cholesterol | 154mg | 51% |
| Sodium | 1927mg | 80% |
| Potassium | 489mg | 10% |
| Sugar | 11.2g | 22% |
| Vitamin A | 50IU | 1% |
| Vitamin C | 0.8mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 50mg | 5% |
| Iron | 2.7mg | 15% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
You'll Also Love
