Recipe: Chinese ginger wine chicken 姜酒雞

Asian women would usually undergo "confinement" for 30 days after giving birth to their child. During the confinement period, this dish of ginger wine chicken 姜酒雞 is commonly eaten as it is believed that ginger is good for expelling wind, helping blood circulation and is good for body recuperation (believed to be able to speed up womb recovery). I have to say that one of my favorite things about confinement was getting to eat this everyday (yes, I ate this 3 meals a day for 30 days!) and surprisingly I never got bored of it!

Chinese ginger wine chicken

I have previously posted another version using Chinese rice wine, however for something more accessible you can try the Ginger Wine from Eu Yan Sang, which I have been using for over 10 years now. In countries where you cannot get hold of this, a good alternative is Stone's brand which I find good too. Other than using it to make this dish, ginger wine is very versatile - you can use it to marinate your meat or seafood as well as to add flavour to your stir fry dishes. I always have a bottle of this handy in my kitchen.

For this dish, I used chicken breast as it is leaner and healthier. This is the more soupy version, if you want something more concentrated then see my other version but substitute with ginger wine if you please. Use old ginger for a stronger taste and julienne thinly as you want to eat everything.

I love ginger so I find this an extremely fragrant and flavorful dish. It warms my body and tummy everytime I have this. Thank God that I can enjoy this anytime and not only when I'm in confinement. :)

Ginger wine chicken (suitable for confinement) 姜酒雞
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 3

Ingredients
500g chicken breast
120g old ginger
4 cloves garlic
150ml water
150ml ginger wine
3 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt

To serve
Soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cili padi, chopped


1. In a large wok, heat sesame oil over high heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.

2. Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes, and the chicken has browned slightly. Add water and cook with cover on for 3 minutes.

3. Then, pour in the ginger wine and place the cover back on and cook for a further 5 minutes (or more depending on how big your chicken chunks are).

4. Season with salt and serve immediately with some garlic with cili padi and soy sauce. Serve with a bowl of rice.

*I am submitting this to Little Thumb's Up "Ginger" event hosted by Alvin @ Chef and Sommelier.