I haven’t posted a recipe in awhile and well… it’s about time! I made this for dinner last night and it was a hit! Even the boy who doesn’t like gravy, enjoyed it enough to allow me to send it as leftovers for lunch today.
Portuguese chicken is one of those comfort foods I enjoy making in the fall when the weather is cooling. My mom used to cook it a lot but she used a sauce from a bottle and you know how I can’t bring myself to do that (read why I also make my own pancake mix). I also find it odd that this Portuguese chicken is not really Portuguese at all but was created in Macau which was a Portuguese colony before returning to China in 1999. I guess this would be considered a fusion of Portuguese and Chinese cuisine.
Portuguese Chicken
Ingredients
6 chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless, up to you)
2T soy sauce
1T ShaoHsing wine
1T sugar
1t grated fresh ginger
1T cornstarch
1-2T vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
6 small carrots chopped into medium sized chunks
3 potatoes chopped into medium sized chunks
1t cumin
2t turmeric
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can coconut milk (approximately 400ml)
1T cornstarch
2T cold water
Salt to taste
Instructions
1. In a bowl, combine the chicken thighs, soy sauce, ShaoHsing wine, sugar, ginger and cornstarch and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Cook chicken until slightly browned and cooked through, remove to a plate and set aside.
3. Add onion and sautée until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add carrots and potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Stir in cumin and turmeric and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour in chicken broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add coconut milk and reserved chicken and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until carrots and potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes (also depends on the size of your vegetables, larger chunks may take longer).
6. Mix cornstarch with cold water and pour the slur into the pot and heat until the gravy has thickened. Season with salt to taste.
Serve with rice.
**Note: Chop the carrots and potatoes to approximately the same size so that they cook evenly. Bone-in chicken gives more flavour but boneless chicken is definitely easier to eat.
Please let me know how it turns out for you. Hope you and your family enjoy it as much as ours!
Thanks for the recipe, Flo! We, the adults, love it! Yum! Connor’s ok with it, but the younger ones are not so good with the “exotic” spices they’re not used to. I think that if I cut back on the cumin it probably would help. It’s definitely good not not have to use sauce in a jar. So, I’m excited to have your recipe! Hope the flavors will grow on the kiddos.
Oh that’s so great to hear, Susan! Over the years I’ve learned that it really doesn’t take a whole lot more effort to make things from scratch especially when you have all the ingredients at home already.
This looks really great! I need to ask if there’s a good substitute for the ShaoHsing wine. I might go out and find it later if this meets “family approval” (and I think it will!)
Hi Christine, you could try a dry sherry or a rice wine. You can always omit it if you can’t find any. Let me know houw it turns out!
I imagine I can find this at the infamous Ranch 99 or any asian grocery? (Fortunate enough to be in the Bay Area, but have never heard of this ingredient.)
Do you mean the ShaoHsing wine? Should definitely be available at Ranch 99. We used to live in SF!
Yes. The wine. Thanks, so much! I’m bookmarking your recipes for my new Instant Pot!
?? Awesome!
When you said on the blog post that you made this in the IP, you said that you decreased the broth to 1/2 cup. I wanted to ensure that you meant that you used 1/2 cup and didn’t decrease it by 1/2 cup (which would equal 1 cup.) This is looking like dinner tomorrow night!
Yes, only use 1/2c of broth. I find you don’t need as much liquid in the IP as it doesn’t evaporate. I would also recommend using natural release for about 10-20 mins depending on how full your pot is then quick release the rest, slowly of possible. I once made this too full and had broth spewing everywhere through the sealing knob. What a mess! Don’t do that. 😉
Thanks for the reply. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hi Flo, I love the videos and recipes you and your husband do. Have you given any thought about an Instant Pot version of this recipe? I just ordered one from Amazon on Prime Day and I think I might try this as a first run. It looks delicious.
Thanks, Mike! This was the very first recipe I made in the Instant Pot (https://flolum.com/instant-pot/) but I didn’t film it. ? Use the recipe as above but reduce the broth to 3/4 cup broth and manual cook on high pressure for 8 mins. Will add this to my list of recipes to film. ?Enjoy!
Flo, my Instant Pot was delivered yesterday and I made this for my family tonight. Everyone loved it. I agree that it doesn’t really save any time, but it was a great test run recipe because I used both the saute feature and pressure cooking. I also made a batch of brown rice before I started so I got a grand tour of the features. Thanks for a great recipe that I’m sure will become a regular in our house.
Awesome! So great to hear. ?
Stupid me took this as the instructions for instant pot. After 30 min, the chicken along with the potatoes & carrot all melt away. Enjoying my Portuguese chicken soup now. Lol.
OMG! I am so sorry! Only seeing this now. Hope you tried it again in the IP.
Just made the IP version. Very good! This is a keeper. I might use a full cup of stock to make sure I have enough gravy when it’s done!
Great! Glad you enjoyed it!
Your recipes are extremely empowering! I’m excited to try this one after coming across your video on YouTube. I have food allergies to apple, pear, and sesame – common ingredients in East Asian packaged curries/sauces so I appreciate that this dish is a curry which doesn’t include those ingredients. Thank you!! Always enjoy your content and tips!