One of the easiest ways to cook chicken, this Sha Cha chicken recipe calls for simple preparation but delivers a delectable result.
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What is Sha Cha chicken
Chicken recipes have always been popular with my blog readers. Today, I’m sharing a super simple dish, Sha Cha Chicken (Shā Chá Jī/沙茶鸡), which has a short ingredient list, requires minimum culinary skills and can be cooked quickly.
This quick dish features chicken pieces seasoned with an umami-rich marinade, pan-fried with aromatics, and then briefly braised to achieve a tender texture and a mouthwatering appearance. Its key flavor comes from Sha Cha sauce, a unique paste that offers multiple layers of exciting taste.
If you’ve enjoyed my simple recipes for Ginger Chicken, Black Bean Chicken, or Steamed Chicken, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this one too. Scroll down to learn the details.
🌟 NOTE: I also have a recipe for Sha Cha Beef which shares the same flavor profile.
Ingredients
Sha Cha chicken calls for a few ingredients, and you’ve probably got most of them at hand if you’re familiar with Chinese cooking.
- Chicken. I prefer boneless, skinless drums or thighs for this recipe. Wings and breasts are good options too.
- Sha Cha Sauce, the key flavor contributor to the dish (more on this in the next section)
- Light soy sauce
- Cornstarch
- Salt and sugar
- Aromatics: ginger, garlic, and scallions
- Neutral cooking oil
About Sha Cha sauce
Sha Cha sauce (Shā Chá Jiàng/沙茶酱), also spelled as Shacha or Sacha sauce, is a multi-purpose condiment made of fish, shrimp, aromatics, and spices. Popular in the cuisines of Chaozhou (Teochew), Fujian, and Taiwan, it has a distinctive umami and savory taste that lends deliciousness to many dishes.
It is commonly used in five ways: Zhàn/蘸, for dipping (e.g., hot pot sauce); Chǎo/炒, for stir-frying; Lǔ/卤, for braising (e.g., today’s recipe); Bàn/拌, for dressing; Kǎo/烤, for grilling.
This sauce comes in tins or jars, with the thick, brown paste sitting at the bottom, covered by a good amount of golden-reddish oil. You need to stir these two components before spooning the mixture out for recipes. The most popular and easily accessible brand is Bull Head/牛頭牌 (shown in the image above).
Although Sha Cha sauce is labeled as “Barbecue Sauce” in English, don’t confuse it with Char Siu sauce/叉烧酱, the key ingredient for Char Siu (aka Chinese BBQ pork). Also, don’t mistake it for Satay sauce/沙爹酱, which is a peanut-based condiment with a sweet undertone.
🌟 Substitutes: It’s hard to find other condiments that share the same flavor profile. The closest is probably XO sauce, which is also seafood-based and umami-rich.
Cooking workflow
To prepare this dish, it takes three simple steps and less than 10 minutes of active time (plus 10 minutes for marinating). Here is the workflow:
Step 1: Marinate the chicken
Cut the chicken into big chunks. If using boneless drums, halve them. If using thighs, cut them into quarters. For wings, chop on the joints to separate three sections.
In a large bowl, mix chicken pieces with Sha Cha sauce, light soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, and sugar. Then, coat the seasoned chicken with a little oil to lock in the moisture.
Leave to marinate for 10 minutes, or up to 2 hours for a richer taste.
Step 2: Pan-fry the chicken
Use a large skillet or frying pan. First, heat oil that’s just enough to thinly cover the surface of the cookware. Lay the marinated chicken pieces in a single layer. Scatter sliced ginger and halved garlic cloves all around.
Leave to fry over medium heat until the bottom side of the chicken browns. Flip to fry the other side.
Step 3: Braise the chicken
Once both sides of the chicken become golden, add about ½ cup of water.
Cover the skillet with a lid and leave to braise for about 4 minutes over high heat, until the chicken is fully cooked (extend it to 6 minutes if using bone-in pieces).
Finally, add chopped scallions. Let it cook a little further, without the lid, to boil down the cooking liquid.
How to serve
Scoop your freshly cooked Sha Cha chicken over a bowl of steamed rice and enjoy! Alternatively, use these flavorsome chicken pieces to stuff freshly steamed bao buns.
Why not prepare a simple vegetable dish to complement the meal? The quickest option would be making a Smashed Cucumber Salad while waiting for the chicken to marinate. Or, try Steamed Eggplant Salad which takes under 10 minutes to prepare.
Other simple recipes
Looking for more quick & easy dishes to try? Have a look at these popular ones:
📋 Recipe card
Love this recipe? Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating and a comment. Thank you!
Sha Cha Chicken (沙茶鸡)
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken drums, or thighs - see note 1
- 2 tablespoon Sha Cha sauce - see note 2
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2½ tablespoon neutral cooking oil - divided
- 6 slices ginger
- 8 cloves garlic - halved
- 2 stalks scallions - cut into sections
Instructions
Marinate
- Cut chicken drums, or thighs, into chunks. Put them in a bowl and add Sha Cha sauce, light soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, and sugar.
- Mix well, then pour in ½ tablespoon of oil and stir to coat the chicken evenly. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
Pan-fry
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet/frying pan. Place in the marinated chicken pieces without overlapping, along with ginger and garlic.
- Let them fry over medium heat until the first side of the chicken turns golden. Flip to brown the other side.
Braise
- Add about ½ cup of water to the skillet. Cover with a lid and leave to braise over high heat for about 4 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir in scallions. Cook further until the cooking liquid is reduced to a minimum. Dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
NOTES
NUTRITION
NUTRITION DISCLOSURE: Nutritional information on this website is provided as a courtesy to readers. It should be considered estimates. Please use your own brand nutritional values or your preferred nutrition calculator to double check against our estimates.
Hello Wei,
Thankyou for introducing me to the delights of Sha Cha sauce.
We ate this for our evening meal tonight with steamed rice. I cooked it just as you said and then stirred in some blanched Tsoi Chum. I really like the Umami flavour of the sauce. I’m so happy that I got the big tin of sauce as I am now very much looking forward to trying your Beef Sha Cha.
Thanks again for another wonderful meal.
Paul:-)
So happy to hear you enjoyed it—and great idea adding greens to the dish! Hope you love the Sha Cha Beef just as much!
cant find how make the sha cha sauce? as it keeps saying to use it but no recipe for it in this post
Thanks for your message! Sha Cha sauce is actually a shop-bought ingredient, and there’s a section in the post that explains more about it. Happy cooking!
IsSha Cha sauce gluten free?
I find that most Sha Cha sauces are gluten-free, such as the Bull Head (牛頭牌) brand I recommend in the post. However, you should always check the label, as some brands may use different ingredients. Happy cooking!
Hi Wei, can’t wait to try this simple but flavourful looking recipe 🙂 Quick question, if I were to use this dish as a bao filling, like you mention in the post, what sauce would you recommend with it? The dish itself doesn’t seem to have much of it and I’m wondering if the bao buns would be too dry without an additional sauce. Would love your recommendation!
Love from Munich,
Raz
I’m so glad you’re excited to try this recipe. If you’re using it as a bao filling, an additional sauce isn’t necessary. While it doesn’t have much sauce flowing, if it’s properly seasoned as per the recipe, it should taste great and won’t feel too dry in the bao. Enjoy!
Super easy preparation and cooking yields a tasty result. I followed the recipe to the letter, and was very pleased with the result. I served it over brown basmati rice, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Thank you for your lovely feedback, Paula! I’m so glad the recipe worked out perfectly for you. Serving it over brown basmati rice sounds delicious—great choice!
This looks yummy and easy! I’m wondering, for dinners, do you make this and put it out, then make the veggy side dish? Or pop the chicken in the oven, make veggy, put all out at once? How does timing work when I can only make one dish at a time?
Good question! Keeping dishes warm in the oven isn’t common in Chinese kitchens (most don’t have an oven), but feel free to do so if it helps. If your veggie dish is also a quick stir-fry, you can leave the chicken on the counter while you quickly cook the veggies—it won’t cool down much. Be sure to have all ingredients prepped and sauces mixed before starting. Another option is to pair this dish with steamed or blanched vegetables (which you can cook on a separate burner) or a cold veggie appetizer. Hope this helps!
Thanks! I’ll try these things. When I was in the mainland, I didn’t really get to eat at someone’s house, it was always a restaraunt, and things came out one or two dishes at a time. This is very nice to get to learn how to make these dishes I miss so much!
I just prepared this dish. I must say it’s really delightful. I’ve also prepared a few others of your recipes. All of them great. Thanks for making it simple to prepare such delicious meals.
My pleasure to share, Fergus! I hope you’ll find more inspiration on my blog.
Such a simple, easy, and delicious recipe!! I’ve made this a couple of times and it never disappoints!
Glad you enjoyed the dish, Sierra!
Hi can you leave it longer than2 hours, for example overnight? Thanks
Yes, you can marinate the chicken overnight.
More lamb recipes please 🤤
Hi Licha! I love lamb too (it’s very popular in my home province Gansu) and will share more lamb recipes in the future. Have you tried my recipes for Cumin Lamb Stir-Fry, Baked Lamb Bao, Lamb Skewers, and Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles?