Why is it called 3 cup chicken?

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji or Sanbeiji) is a popular dish that originated in the Jiangxi province of southern China. Recipe lore is that “Three cups” refers to the original recipe calling for one cup each of soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil .

What does 3 cup chicken taste like?

It's savory, yet sweet at the same time. There's a slight hint of spiciness and also the fragrance of the red basil leaves. I like to serve this with plenty of white rice (I love having the sauce from this dish with the rice) and usually a plain garlic stir fry of an Asian vegetable.

What is the meaning of San Bei?

San bei ji—literally “ three-cup chicken ,” for the plentiful sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine it contains—is one of Taiwan's most beloved dishes for a good reason.

How much chicken is 3 cups cooked?

Generally, 3/4 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts will yield 2 cups of cubed cooked chicken. A 3-1/2-pound whole chicken will yield about 3 cups of diced cooked chicken.

How many breasts is 3 cups of chicken?

Shredded Chicken by Cups Yield Chart Chicken breasts Amount Shredded 8oz breast (approx 1) 1 ⅓ cup 12oz breast (approx 2) 2 cups 16oz breast (approx 2-3) 3 cups 24oz breast (approx 3-4) 4 cups 1 more row Mar 13, 2023

Where does San Bei Ji come from?

The dish originates from the Jiangxi province of southern China , and is a specialty of Ningdu where the population are Hakka. The dish has become especially popular in Taiwan, being introduced to the island by the Hakka people. It is also served as a postpartum confinement food by the Chinese community of Malaysia.

How much chicken is 3 cups chopped?

Approximately 1.5 pound of uncook and boneless chicken breast will make 3 cups of shredded chicken meat.

How much is 3 cups of chicken?

1 pound of chicken meat is equal to approximately 3 cups . As a general rule, for bone in chicken you need twice as much to yield the same amount of meat. 1 serving of chicken is equal to about 4 oz/ 100 grams/ ¾ cup. There is ⅓ pound chicken per cup of meat.

How much chicken makes 3 cups shredded chicken?

Approximately 1.5 pound of uncook and boneless chicken breast will make 3 cups of shredded chicken meat.

What is 1 cup of chicken?

Avoid buying too little or too much with these helpful tips. One cup cubed or shredded chicken: 1 cup of cubed or shredded chicken is about 5 ¼ ounces of cooked, deboned chicken.

What is 3 cups of shredded chicken?

Shredded Chicken by Cups Yield Chart Chicken breasts Amount Shredded 8oz breast (approx 1) 1 ⅓ cup 12oz breast (approx 2) 2 cups 16oz breast (approx 2-3) 3 cups 24oz breast (approx 3-4) 4 cups 1 more row Mar 13, 2023

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji) Recipe (2024)

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Asian
East Asian

Cathy Erway

Cathy Erway is an award-winning food writer, author, blogger, and podcast host based in Brooklyn. She contributes to The Huffington Post, The New York Times, TASTE Cooking, Eater, Saveur, Serious Eats, and Food & Wine, among other publications.

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Updated March 24, 2022

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Why It Works

The bold and flavorful cooking liquid is incredibly easy, made from equal parts soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine.
By cooking the garlic and ginger in the oil first, then adding the chicken and cooking liquid, the entire dish can be made quickly in just one skillet or wok.
Two options for cutting up the chicken allow you to choose between a more traditional version (with the chicken cut into 3-inch, bone-in pieces), or a more home-cook-friendly version (with the drumsticks left whole and the thighs cut in half along—but not through—the bone).

You won't see a lot of strict rules in Taiwanese recipes. But this dish, one of the island's most famous, is an exception. It calls upon equal parts soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil to create a viscous, dark sauce for braising chopped pieces of bone-in chicken. These are the "three cups" in question, and from the dish's name alone, a skeletal recipe emerges.

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji) Recipe (3)

What its name doesn't give away, however, is that Three Cup Chicken also gets its intense flavor from heaps of whole garlic cloves and big rounds of ginger, fried in the sesame oil until golden-brown. When your chicken's added, they continue to cook until soft and sweet, mingling with sugar that's been added to the braising liquids. Toward the end of cooking, the whole dish is showered liberally with fresh basil leaves—the telltale sign that it's Taiwanese, although the dish has roots in Southern China. When it's ready to serve, the reddish-stained chicken is crowded with the soft, tender garlic cloves and lightly candied ginger, coated with a slightly reduced sauce, and peppered with herbs. It really is an exercise in over-abundance, and the result proves just what a good thing that can be.

The dish, known asSan Bei Jiin Taiwan, has become a standard menu item at Taiwanese restaurants, and its flavor profile has inspired all sorts of variations, the most common one being three cup-style braised squid or cuttlefish. But chicken is the classic rendition, and to make it the authentic way, it would traditionally be cooked in an old-fashioned clay pot. Luckily, it's pretty easy to pull off in any saucepan or wok at home.

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji) Recipe (4)

In Taiwan, San Bei Ji would normally be made with chicken that's been chopped into bite-sized, bone-in pieces. A drumstick, for instance, would be divvied into two or three pieces crosswise, straight through the bone. Other parts would be pared down to a similar size. You can ask a butcher to cut the chicken like that for you, or even take a cleaver to it yourself if you're feeling adventurous, but at home I opt for an easier path by cutting chicken pieces to about the same size without cutting through the bone. For example, when I made this with chicken thighs and drumsticks, I cut the thighs in half by slicing alongside—but not through—the bone and left the drumsticks as-is, so that all the pieces were about the same size. This will ensure that everything cooks evenly.

Served with rice to absorb all its sauce, Three Cup Chicken is a pungent, lipsmacking main course. Pair it with a simple sautéed vegetable side for a hearty and satisfying meal.

April 23, 2014

Recipe Details