Simple Chinese Dinner Meal

Today, I will show you how to make a proper Chinese dinner meal to give you an idea of what a Chinese family eats for dinner regularly. This meal includes scallion chicken, a beautiful, healthy vegetable soup, and rice, enough to serve a 3 member family. It is delicious, healthy, budget-friendly, and easy to make.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

Make the Shallot&scallion Chicken

• 2 chicken legs, about 2 lb / 907g
• 1.2L / 5 cups of water
• 2.5 inches of ginger, sliced thinly
• 4 scallions
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 3-4 tbsp of oil
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp of sugar
• Dice scallions as garnish

Make the tomato egg tofu soup

• 2 tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 eggs, whisk well
• 227g / 0.5lb of tofu
• A hand full of green leafy vegetables
• 1.2L / 5 cups of chicken stock
• 1¼ tsp of salt
• White pepper to taste

Make the Rie

• 2 cups of jasmine rice
• 3 cups of water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add chicken leg quarters, ginger slices, scallions, and 1.2L / 5 cups of water to a stock pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat. If you don’t like dark meat, use the same amount of chicken breast and 5 cups of chicken broth instead of water.
2. Meanwhile, wash the rice under running water several times and drain thoroughly. Add 2 cups of water and 3 cups of water to a pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Put on the lid and turn the heat to low. Simmer the rice for 18 minutes. If you don’t know how to cook rice, check out this guide.
3. Check back on the chicken leg quarters. It should have come to a boil by now. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 8 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. Understanding the recipe and using the fragmented time is the key to creating a faster cooking flow. That is why you see me alternately timing and working between the rice and the chicken.
5. While waiting, we will work on the scallion sauce, which is the flavor component of this meal.
6. Slice 1 inch of ginger thinly; slice 2 scallions diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces; Quarter 2 shallots; peel the outer layers; then slice them thinly.
7. Add cooking oil to a saucepan, along with the ginger slices, scallions, and shallots. Stir over medium-low heat for a few minutes or until the aromatics are golden.
8. Separate the aromatics and the oil by pouring them through a sieve. Reserve the crispy goodness on the side.
9. Add the oil back to the pan long with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Mix over low heat until the seasoning is condensed. Turn off the heat and set the sauce aside.
10. Check the chicken by poking the thickest part with a fork. If there is not pink juice leaking out, the chicken is completely cooked through. Transfer the chicken into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
11. Remove the scallions and ginger slices from the pot. Then put the chicken broth back onto the stove and heat it over medium heat.
12. Meanwhile, cut 2 tomatoes into bite-size pieces; cut half a package of tofu into cubes. Add them to the chicken broth and boil for a minute or 2.
13. Crack two eggs and whisk them well. Drizzle it into the chicken broth.
14. Last, chop a handful of green leafy vegetables into 2-inch stalks and stir them into the broth.
15. Seaon the soup with 1¼ tsp of salt and some white pepper to taste. Set the soup aside.
16. The chicken should be done chilling. Take it out of the ice bath and use paper towels to wipe the excess water.
17. Debone the chicken and cut the meat into bite size pieces. You can remove the skin if you want but as a native Cantonese, I love the texture of the skin so I will keep it.
18. Place the chicken on a serving plate. Drizzle in the scallion sauce all over and garnish with some diced scallions.
19. By now, the rice should be done. Turn off the heat and fluff the grains. Garnish the rice with the reserved crispy aromatics.
20. Serve the rice, soup, and chicken together.