"Red cooked" chicken

After my disappointing lunch (see previous post), I decided to cook again for dinner. I usually only cook once a day and dine out or eat something simple, such as a fruit / yogurt salad for my other meal.

This time, I decided to cook some chicken (drumsticks) based on this recipe: http://chowtimes.com/2007/02/16/red-cooked-chicken/. The authors call it "red cooked chicken" and it is a very common Chinese recipe. The term "red cooked" is a literal translation from the Chinese name, but I am not sure if it is the best translation so I am enclosing it in quotations.

I followed the recipe with some minor modifications (mostly due to laziness and availability of ingredients). The ingredients and quantities I used were:

• Chicken drumsticks (4, ~1.2 lbs).
• Dark soy sauce (1/2 cup).
• Rice wine (3/4 cup).
• Water (1 1/2 cup).
• Scallions (1, chopped into inch-long pieces).
• Ginger, (a small knob, the size of a thumb; sliced).
• Garlic (a clove).
• Sugar (regular white granulated; 1 tablespoon).
  

I used less dark soy sauce than recommended since after my previous chicken experience, I feared that the result would be too salty.


I mixed these ingredients (including the chicken) into a pot and brought it to a boil. Then I turned down the heat and allowed it to simmer for 15 minutes. Afterwards, I flipped each of the drumsticks over and allowed it to simmer for another 15 minutes on low heat. When this was done, I turned off the heat, and allowed it to stew while I prepared rice (this took about 10 minutes).


The result was quite good, but not earth-shattering. It made up for my abysmal lunch, so I'll likely try this again. I also kept the liquid sauce, which is commonly used as a "master sauce".