Chaozhou Oolong Tea Chicken
A creative dish where Chaozhou Phoenix Oolong tea infuses chicken, resulting in a delicate tea aroma and succulent, tender meat.
Ingredients
12 items- Chicken thighs 2 (about 400g)
- Chaozhou Oolong tea (Phoenix Dan Cong) 10g
- Light soy sauce 1 tbsp
- Cooking wine 1 tbsp
- Sugar 2 tsp
- Salt 1/2 tsp
- White pepper powder 1/4 tsp
- Sesame oil 1 tsp
- Ginger 3 slices
- Green onion 2 stalks
- Rice 1 tbsp
- Cooking oil 2 tbsp
Nutrition
Steps （8 steps）
Brew the Chaozhou Oolong tea in 150ml of 80°C water for 3 minutes; strain, reserving tea liquid and leaves separately. Drain leaves and set aside.
Debone chicken thighs, cut into 5cm pieces, lightly pound with a meat mallet. Place in a bowl, add light soy sauce, cooking wine, 1 tsp sugar, white pepper, ginger, scallions, and 2 tbsp tea liquid. Marinate for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the smoking mixture: combine drained tea leaves, remaining 1 tsp sugar, and rice on a piece of foil.
Heat a pan over medium heat, add oil. Remove chicken from marinade, discard ginger and scallions. Place chicken skin-side down and cook for 4 minutes until golden and crispy, then flip and cook another 3 minutes.
Transfer chicken to a plate, blot excess oil. Line a wok with foil, add smoking mixture, place a steaming rack inside, and put chicken on the rack. Cover with lid.
Heat the wok over medium heat until smoke appears, then reduce to low and smoke for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit covered for another minute.
Remove lid, take out chicken, brush immediately with sesame oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and some crushed tea leaves (optional). Let cool slightly, then cut into 1cm strips.
Arrange on a plate, garnish with fresh tea leaves or scallion, and serve. The chicken is crispy outside, tender inside, with a rich tea fragrance.
Tips
Choose coarse tea leaves for better smoking aroma; chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked during pan-frying as it will cook more during smoking; monitor heat to avoid burning the smoking mixture.
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