Name: Basil Soy Sauce Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 lb. chicken thighs, skinless; 1/2 tsp canola oil; 1 bunch fresh basil; 1 cup of boiling water, for braising; 1 carrot; 1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine; 1 tbsp. Naturally aged soy sauce; 1 tbsp. Light Soy Sauce; 1/2 tbsp. sugar in the raw

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Basil Soy Sauce Chicken with Carrots features juicy & savory chicken thighs braised with carrots. It is such an easy one-wok dish made of simple ingredients. Want to make a perfectly tasty and healthy rice bowl all done in under 30 minutes? You’ve got it right here.

This is a quick & easy, simplified version of Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken dish. If you’d like a more satisfying flavor and taste, check out here.

Key Ingredients:

Chicken thighs work best for this recipe. Remove the skins if possible.

Cornerstone simple-tasty Chinese Cooking Condiments – Shaoxing Wine, Natural Soy Sauce, and Light Soy Sauce.

Natural soy sauce or naturally brewed & aged soy sauce, or Jiao You {酱油} is the traditional soy sauce. I sometime refer to as natural or regular soy sauce. Dark vs. Light Soy Sauce is a modern time Cantonese invention. You can use dark soy sauce to substitute the natural soy sauce.

Cooking Oil – canola oil and avocado oil are my primary go-to stir-fry or braise cooking oil.

Sugar – Turbinado sugar, also known as “Sugar in the raw” is my go-to sugar for braising meat. The large golden crystals and natural molasses in the turbinado sugar offers this satisfying flavor and taste.

Fresh Basil – Basil complements chicken well. During the summer when basil is thriving in our backyard garden, I make various basil dishes. Check out how to grill or easily braise a yummy “Basil Black Pepper Chicken“, or make iconic Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken or Tofu.

How to Make Basil Soy Sauce Chicken with Carrots?

See the Recipe for a detailed tutorial. Below are the key steps.

Step 1: Pan-fry and sear the chicken

Turn the heat to high and heat the Wok for 1-2 minutes to warm up the wok first. Add oil into the wok to grease the wok evenly. Add chicken thighs. Try to layer the chicken thighs with as little overlapping as possible. Let them cook for about 3 minutes on one side.

Flip the chicken and move around the over-lapping pieces. Cook the other side of the chicken for another 3 minutes. Make sure we have seared or browned all chicken pieces properly.

Step 2: Add Shaoxing Wine, Natural Soy Sauce, Light Soy Sauce, Sugar, chopped basil, and 1 cup of water into the wok

Cover the Wok with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Add carrots into the wok

Gently fold the carrots into the chicken, cover the wok with a lid, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Step 4: Stir Fry Chicken Thighs with Carrots

Remove the lid of the wok. The liquid in the Wok should almost disappear by the end of the 20 minutes braising. If that’s the case, turn the heat to low, and fold the chicken with the remaining sauce in the wok for 1 or 2 minutes. A quality slotted turner makes folding easier.

If there is still a small amount of liquid left in the wok, then leave the heat on high and continue to fold the chicken with the remaining sauce in the wok for about 5 minutes or till the sauce level reduced and thickens.

Do you like Rice Bowl? Make sure you check out below delicious choices for a healthy, tasty rice bowl.

Basil Soy Sauce Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 27 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken thighs, skinless
1/2 tsp canola oil
1 bunch fresh basil
1 cup of boiling water, for braising
1 carrot

For Braising Sauce:

1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp. Naturally aged soy sauce
1 tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp. sugar in the raw

Instructions

Gather all the ingredients. Add everything under "For Braising Sauce" into a small bowl, mix well and set aside.
Wash, peel, and cut carrots into a diamond shape.
Wash, air dry, and cut basil leaves into bite sizes.
Turn the heat to medium-high, heat the Wok for 1 minute, and then add canola oil and the chicken.

Try to layer the chicken thighs with as little overlapping as possible. Let them cook for about 3 minutes on one side.
Flip the chicken and move around the over-lapping pieces. Cook the other side of the chicken for another 3 minutes. Make sure we have seared or browned all chicken pieces properly.
Pour the braising sauce into the wok, along with chopped basil, and 1 cup of boiling water. Gently fold and mix. Cover the wok with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Add carrots into the wok. Gently fold the carrots into the chicken, cover the wok with a lid, and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove the lid of the wok. The liquid in the Wok should almost disappear by the end of the 20 minutes braising. If that’s the case, turn the heat to low, and fold the chicken with the remaining sauce in the wok for 1 or 2 minutes. A quality slotted turner makes folding easier.
If there is still a small amount of liquid left in the wok, then leave the heat on high and continue to fold the chicken with the remaining sauce in the wok for 5 minutes or till the sauce level reduced.
All done. Serve in a rice bowl with freshly steamed rice and a blanched green leafy vegetable for a yummy, healthy dinner.

Notes

I usually make about 3 lbs. chicken thighs for my family of 4 so that we have leftover for the following day. Simply triple all ingredients except for the boiling water. You still only need 1 cup of boiling water for braising.