Shaoxing drunken chicken wings

Last Updated on July 13, 2021 by Simon Fan

The City of Shaoxing (绍兴), the birthplace of the famous Shaoxing wine, has a history of over 2,500 years.

Located in Zhejiang Province on the East Coast and known as the “City of Water,” “City of Bridges,” “City of Calligraphy,” and “City of Scholars,” Shaoxing has been a cultural center throughout Chinese history. Despite a booming economy in recent decades, the city has, to my surprise during a recent trip, maintained a small-town charm with enchanting tranquility and cultural ambiance.

Its famous Shaoxing wine is brewed from spring water, rice, yeast, and wheat, and then aged in earthenware jars. The entire process gives the wine an amber color and complex aromas, bearing a close resemblance to a well-aged sherry wine such as amontillado or oloroso. The picture here shows an 8-year aged Shaoxing wine.

The food of Shaoxing is equally impressive and revered as a pillar of Zhejiang cuisine, one of my favorite regional cuisines in China. The best examples showcasing the perfect marriage between Shaoxing’s cooking and wine are its dazzling array of “drunken dishes,” such as drunken shrimp, drunken tofu, and drunken chicken that’s featured here.

Drunken chicken is typically served chilled or cold, hence a perfect dish for the summer. The recipe is quite straightforward with two steps: first gently poaching the chicken, then soaking the cooked and cooled chicken in a flavoring broth with Shaoxing wine. To achieve the best results, you want to use organic or free-range chicken from a reputable farm. For my dish, I used the fantastic chicken wings from Grazin’ Angus Acres Farm in Ghent, NY. Feel free to use other chicken parts such as thighs or breasts (with or without skin) if you like.

The recipe also requires a high-quality aged Shaoxing wine. Those labeled as “Shaoxing cooking wine” available at Asian grocery stores won’t be up to the task for this recipe. Try to find one without “cooking” in the name and aged at least 5 years from a liquor store in Chinatown or online. Alternatively, you can try the recipe with high-quality aged sherry wine.

The flavoring broth in my recipe deviates slightly from the traditional one, by including fish sauce, which in my opinion adds depth to the dish and accentuates the aromas of Shaoxing wine.

Shaoxing drunken chicken wings

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) organic chicken wings or other chicken parts of your choice
1 small bunch of scallions, cut in half crosswise
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns

Flavoring broth
1 cup (240 ml) reserved poaching liquid
⅓ cup (80 ml) aged Shaoxing wine
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger, thinly sliced
Freshly ground white pepper

Directions

1. Put the chicken wings, scallions, and ginger in a pot. Add enough water (about 2 cups) to cover. Place the bay leaves and Sichuan peppercorns in a spice bag (or wrap and tie them in cheesecloth) and add it to the pot. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a bare simmer, with only occasional bubbles breaking the surface. If you use a thermometer, maintain the temperature of the cooking liquid at around 180°F (82°C). Poach until the chicken wings are just cooked through (the juice of the chicken runs clear when inserted with a thin knife), about 6 minutes.
2. Transfer the wings to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool.
3. Strain the poaching liquid and reserve 1 cup for the flavoring broth. The rest can be saved for another use.
4. To make the flavoring broth, combine the reserved poaching liquid, wine, fish sauce, sugar, ginger, and a few grinds of white pepper in a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil, then pour it into a heatproof bowl or container large enough to hold the liquid and chicken wings. Once the liquid has cooled, add the wings. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. Serve the wings chilled or cold, drizzled with some flavoring broth.