Ma You Ji
麻油雞·(má yóu jī)
Jia Chang Cai (家常菜) – Weeknight Dinners That Earn Their Place
If you grew up in a Taiwanese household, you know the smell: deeply roasted black sesame oil, a mountain of old ginger, and the sweet, vaporizing scent of rice wine. Originally a postpartum restorative soup meant to bring heat back to an exhausted body, for kids of the diaspora, it was just Tuesday night in Ohio. The secret to recreating that exact, nostalgic flavor without the bitterness that plagues lazy restaurant versions comes down to a few unbending rules: start the ginger in cold oil, boil off the alcohol with the lid off, and ditch refined sugar for dried longan. This is comfort food with a purpose.
Before you start
Respect the ingredients, but keep it realistic.
Western home cooks rarely have the cleavers or inclination to chop through raw chicken bones on a weeknight. Whole, bone-in, skin-on thighs and drumsticks are the perfect adaptation. The intact bones yield necessary gelatin, and the skin provides essential rendered fat. Do not substitute boneless, skinless breasts; they will dry out and fail to contribute to the broth's body.
Ingredients
- black sesame oil3 tbsp
- old ginger50 g
- bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks2 lb
- Taiwanese Michiu or sake2 cup
- water2 cup
- dried longan1/2 cup
- Taiwanese cabbage1/4 med
- dried goji berries1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- black sesame oil1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Start the ginger in a cold pot.
Pour 3 tablespoons of black sesame oil into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven before turning on the heat. Scatter the ginger in an even layer, then turn the heat to medium-low. Black sesame oil burns easily; frying the ginger slowly for 7 to 10 minutes until the edges curl and turn golden brown infuses the oil without turning it bitter.
- 02
Sear the chicken to render the fat.
Turn the heat to medium-high and add the chicken pieces, skin-side down. Let them sear undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. Toss and stir-fry just until the outside is no longer pink and the skin shrinks slightly. You aren't cooking the meat through yet, just building flavor and rendering out the subcutaneous fat.
- 03
Flambé and boil off the alcohol.
Briefly turn off the heat to avoid flare-ups, then pour in the rice wine. Turn the heat back to high and bring the liquid to a vigorous boil. Leave the pot completely uncovered for 5 to 8 minutes. You will see white steam billow out as the harsh ethanol evaporates. Once the sharp alcoholic bite is gone from the steam and it smells mellow, you are ready for the next step.
- 04
Build the broth and simmer.
Pour in the 2 cups of boiling water, then add the dried longan and chopped cabbage. Once the pot returns to a rolling simmer, drop the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes. The chicken will become tender and the broth will take on a cloudy, golden hue from the rendered fat and gelatin.
- 05
Adjust the seasoning off the heat.
Remove the lid, stir in the goji berries, and let them plump for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat completely before adding the salt. Adding salt while the soup is actively boiling can cause a chemical reaction that renders the broth bitter. Season incrementally until the savory flavors pop, then finish with the remaining tablespoon of black sesame oil to reinforce the aroma.
Notes
Sourcing and substituting the oil.
Taiwanese black sesame oil is distinct from the standard toasted stuff. It is viscous, deeply roasted, and almost smoky. If you can't find it at your local Asian grocer, blend 2 tablespoons of neutral oil with 1 tablespoon of standard toasted sesame oil for the initial base.
How to serve it.
Serve piping hot, ideally ladled over a bowl of freshly boiled mian xian (thin wheat somen noodles) or alongside steamed white rice to soak up the rich, oily broth.
Reheating the right way.
Like many stews, this tastes even deeper the next day. However, boiling it aggressively upon reheating will destroy the delicate aromatic compounds of the sesame oil. Bring it to a gentle simmer instead, adding a splash of water and a dash of rice wine to revive the broth if it has reduced too much.