Rose Wine Soy Sauce Chicken 玫瑰油雞

A classic Cantonese dish featuring a whole chicken slowly simmered in a rich soy sauce marinade infused with aromatic rose wine, star anise, cinnamon, and other spices. The result is incredibly tender, flavourful chicken with a beautiful sheen.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (approx. 1.2 kg)
• 100g ginger, sliced
• 30g spring onions, cut into sections
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 300ml water
• 200ml light soy sauce
• 100ml dark soy sauce
• 100ml Shaoxing wine
• 50ml rose wine (Mei Kuei Lu Chiew)
• 100g rock sugar
• 5 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 dried tangerine peel, soaked and scraped clean

Steps

1. Clean the chicken thoroughly, remove any excess fat, and pat dry.
2. Prepare the aromatics: Slice ginger and cut spring onions into sections.
3. In a large pot, combine water, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, rose wine, rock sugar, star anise, cinnamon sticks, Sichuan peppercorns, smashed garlic, and dried tangerine peel. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. This is the soy sauce marinade.
4. Carefully place the whole chicken into the simmering soy sauce marinade. Ensure the chicken is fully submerged. If not, you might need to rotate it during cooking.
5. Bring the sauce back to a gentle simmer, then cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway through.
6. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let the chicken steep in the hot marinade for another 30 minutes, keeping the pot covered. This allows the chicken to cook through gently and absorb the flavors.
7. Remove the chicken from the marinade and let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
8. While the chicken rests, heat vegetable oil in a small pan until smoking hot.
9. Pour the hot oil over the rested chicken for extra aroma and skin crispiness (optional, but traditional).
10. Carve the chicken into serving pieces.
11. Drizzle some of the warmed soy sauce marinade over the carved chicken before serving. Garnish with fresh spring onion.

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