Go Back
soy sauce chicken marinade
Victoria Haneveer

Chinese Chicken Marinade with Ginger

This delicious recipe shows you how to marinate chicken in a soy sauce marinade and then cook it to perfection with onions and shiitake mushrooms. The light and dark soy sauces combine nicely with the Chinese rice wine, garlic, sugar, ginger and green onions to result in a full-flavored marinade. This soy sauce marinade chicken is nice served over plain boiled rice, although you could serve it with noodles if you prefer. This flavorful recipe is one of the best chicken marinades to make if you want an oriental flavor.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Marinating 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
 

  • 1/3 cup (80ml) light soy sauce
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 slices ginger
  • 1 1/2 finely chopped green onions
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) water
  • 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
To serve:
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 4 skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 chopped onion

Method
 

  1. Combine the 2 soy sauces, rice wine or sherry, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, green onions, water to make the marinade.
  2. Make 2 diagonal cuts on both sides of the chicken thighs.
  3. Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade.
  4. You might have to use two bags and divide the marinade and chicken between them.
  5. Let the chicken marinate for about 5 hours in the refrigerator, flipping the bag occasionally.
  6. Meanwhile, soften the mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for 30 minutes.
  7. Squeeze out any excess water, chop off the stems and then cut the caps in half. You can discard the stems.
  8. Take the chicken out the marinade. Don’t throw out the marinade.
  9. Heat the oil in a pan then sauté the chicken thighs for 5 minutes on each side or until browned.
  10. Add the onion. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the onion is tender.
  11. Bring the marinade to a boil in a pan and let it boil for 5 minutes.
  12. Add the mushrooms and marinade to the chicken and onions and grind in salt and pepper.
  13. Gently simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Notes

  • You might have to add extra water during cooking.
  • Chinese rice wine is a great ingredient to have on hand. It's used in many Asian recipes.