Oyster Sauce Chicken (蚝油焖鸡)

6 oyster sauce chicken thighs in a skillet.

5 from 3 votes

Oyster Sauce Chicken (蚝油焖鸡)

A simple and delicious way to cook chicken, Chinese oyster sauce chicken requires little effort and basic skills but delivers amazing taste.

Prep Time3

Cook Time30

Total Time33

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 363kcal

Author: Wei Guo

Ingredients

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
6 chicken thighs (skin on and bone in) about 2 lb/900g in total (see note 1)
10 clove garlic
10 slice ginger
2 tablespoon oyster sauce see note 2
2 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup hot water
5 dried chilies optional
1 stalk scallions finely chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Sear the chicken

Heat oil in a skillet. Place in chicken thighs, garlic cloves, and sliced ginger. Pan fry over medium heat until both sides turn lightly golden.

Braise the chicken

Mix oyster sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper with hot water. Pour the mixture into the skillet and add dried chilies if using.
Cover the skillet with a lid and leave to braise over medium heat for 15 minutes. Flip over the chicken thighs and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Thicken the sauce

Uncover the skillet and turn the heat up to high. Let the sauce bubble intensely. Once the sauce has become thick enough to coat a spatula, remove the skillet from the heat.
Garnish the chicken with chopped scallions and serve immediately.

Notes

1. Other skin-on cuts of chicken work for this recipe too, such as wings, drumsticks, and leg quarters. Adjust the cooking time based on the size of the cut. Chicken breasts are not suitable though.

2. If you’re allergic to seafood, replace the regular oyster sauce with the vegetarian version labeled as “mushroom vegetarian stir-fry sauce”.

Nutrition