How to Make Ginger Chicken

My husband taught me to make this local style dish, Ginger Chicken. It's a family favorite here in Hawaii and with our family members in the mainland. Though several steps are required to make this recipe, Ginger Chicken is a simple dish to prepare.

The chicken thigh is what we normally use in Ginger Chicken. It's important to always remove the skin from the thigh before you begin to cook. Today I had only drummettes on hand. In this case, you would leave the skin intact as shown in the picture.

Stove top preparation before roasting, you will need:

One package chicken thighs or drumettes (remove skin on the thighs only)

Garlic cloves - 4

Ginger root - approx 4 large slices

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

For Ginger Chicken sauce:

1 cup Shoyu

1 cup Brown sugar

1/2 cup Distilled Vinegar

Garlic to taste

2 Lg slices ginger root

Black pepper to taste

Sesame seeds

2 Tbsp Corn starch to thicken (approx)

Green onion for garnish

Note: for the Ginger Chicken sauce, you may want to thin out the shoyu just a little with water IF you're not using a low sodium shoyu. It's a personal choice.

Add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil to a hot pan on stove top. (dial set at 8 on electric stove)

The main ingredient for Ginger Chicken is, of course, ginger. No need to peel the ginger root. Just slice in large pieces lengthwise.

Peel two large garlic cloves.

Add garlic and ginger to the hot oil in pan.

To make the sauce, add more ginger root slices in a large bowl. Add to this the brown sugar, shoyu, vinegar, garlic and black pepper to taste. Sesame seeds are optional but they add a little exotic touch to the entrée.

Mix all the ingredients together for the sauce.

On a high setting, sear the outside of the chicken pieces so the chicken holds together well while it's in the oven. (The vinegar in the Ginger Chicken sauce makes the pieces tender.)

Brown the chicken pieces in the skillet on a high temp setting. Use a splatter screen to make cleanup easy.

These chicken pieces are now ready to transfer to the roasting pan. Make sure to add the seared garlic and ginger pieces also for roasting.

In the roasting pan, pour prepared sauce over chicken pieces. Cover tightly with lid or heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, turning chicken pieces every 20 minutes. (Turning ensures the pieces are equally saturated with the Ginger Chicken sauce.)

After one hour, remove chicken pieces and large slices of ginger and any garlic cloves from the sauce. Put roasting pan on stove top burner on high heat until liquid is boiling. Add to this a corn starch and water mixture to thicken, whisk the sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.

Arrange Ginger Chicken in a bowl or on a serving platter. Pour thickened gravy on top. Garnish with a sprinkling of crisp green onion bits. (Wait until just before serving to add the green onion. It's crispness is a wonderful contrast when you bite into the chicken.)