Tag Archives: thai basil

Recipe: Taiwanese-style Three Cup Chicken or Pork

March 8, 2018 epicureasian

I’m a fan of cooking shows, especially the globe trotting kind. While he’s no Andrew Zimmern (whose Bizarre Food series I absolutely enjoy), I recently digested Ainsley Harriott’s street food series “Eat the Streets” on Netflix and was excited to try out some ideas I gleaned from the show.

One of them is a strangely familiar dish, bearing passing resemblance to Filipino adobo chicken…in which chicken parts are braised in a soy sauce base.

Three Cup Chicken/Pork is an easy poultry dish made herby with garlic, ginger and basil. As the meat braises in a spicy-salty-sweet sauce, the basil really gives this dish the perfect finish.

I found pre-cut drumsticks at my local 99 Ranch grocery, but you can chop your own or substitute chicken thighs. I’ve also cooked this with pork belly–which is especially divine.

Serious Eats’ article on San Bei Ji helped me refine some of the measurements and ingredients to suit my family’s tastes. As it stands this recipe contains a lot of heat, but feel free to adjust or omit the chili peppers.

1-2lbs of chicken drumsticks, cut into 3rds (or pork belly)
2oz black or toasted sesame oil
2oz mirin or rice wine
4oz kecap manis, sweet soy sauce
1-2oz chopped garlic
1-2oz ginger root, sliced into rounds
5 pieces of thai bird chili peppers (less to moderate the heat)
.5-1oz thai basil

Over medium-high heat, saute garlic, chili peppers and ginger root in sesame oil until fragrant. Add protein, rice wine and sweet soy sauce and braise for 15-20 minutes. Add thai basil and toss until wilted.

Ye Olde Garden

Scenes before a cold front

November 2, 2011 epicureasian

Another day, another eggplant flower. The fruit is looking pretty good, despite some skin damage.

Purple pastel salvia greggii behind a red salvia greggii cutting in bloom.

In the same bed, you can see the hack job I performed on the Oertel’s Rose yarrow, which was once three times its current size. That doesn’t stop it from budding and blooming. But the smaller footprint allowed some room for the irises; here, Mariposa Skies is putting out new foliage. A neighboring iris, Immortality, also displays new leaves.

In the lily bed, the white mums are aging gracefully into blush pink senescence. Now, if I hadn’t stuck markers where those strap leaves were emerging, I’d have forgotten the spider lily bulbs I planted in the bed sometime back in June of this year.

The tree ring out front is still non-stop a-bloomin’! Of course, it’s looking somewhat bedraggled these days–apparently, a hare or a family of them has been using it for daytime cover. So it looks well-trampled in some parts. I can’t bring myself to yank out all the marigolds and salvia. It’s always fascinating to watch how long they will keep blooming their heads off.

I also managed to catch a lone loropetalum bloom. And a nice arrangement of Hot Lips salvia triplets.

Here is something I haven’t observed; fall foliage color on the potted lantana. Is this normal?

And the rest of today’s photos: caladiums, vincas, potato vines, Thai basil, miscellaneous herbs. And let’s not forget the many rose buds on the Midnight Blue.

Ye Olde Garden

Thai basil blooms

July 5, 2011 epicureasian

As quickly as I pruned them back, the Thai basil blooms return.

Ye Olde Garden

July 4th colors

July 4, 2011 epicureasian

Check out the eggplant bloom. I’m hoping that it’s position underneath the gaura will entice pollinators to visit.

Ye Olde Garden

Herbs and blooms June

June 13, 2011 epicureasian

The newest salvia greggii in the salvia bed has bloomed finally. Also, I’ve noted that the confetti lantanas and Purple Star verbenas in the front bed are enjoying their new home. The recent Hot Lips salvia addition keeps growing and growing…soon it will sprawl like the other Hot Lips in this bed. The dahlberg daisies are irrepressible, non-stop bloomers. As is the Thai basil, shortly before I gave it a haircut.