Braised chicken and potatoes 薯仔焖鸡 is a familiar home-cooked dish served in Cantonese households. My family used to cook it frequently because all the ingredients are readily available, quick and easy, and is a one-pot balanced meal. 

Most of the Chinese restaurants do not serve this dish because it is considered ‘home-cooked.’ However, if you want to experience the taste of a typical meal in a Cantonese family, this is the recipe that you should try. 

I have also published articles on how to prepare other home-cooked Cantonese meals on this blog. Cream corn soup and Chinese steamed eggs are my favorites. Both are meals my regular meals during my childhood. It is easy to make and worth to give them a try.

Here’s the detailed step-by-step instruction on how to cook the Cantonese style braised chicken and potatoes. 

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1. Get ready all the ingredients 

Chicken

My mother used bone-in chicken chunks for cooking since she knew that more flavor would be extracted from the bone while braising. Nevertheless, not everyone likes to find bones in the final dish. So it is a trade-off between taste and preference. I am using chicken breast meat in this recipe for its simplicity. 

I usually marinate the chicken with some salt and light soy sauce. It will be tastier, even marinating for only half an hour. 

Potatoes

Chinese usually do not like to eat potato skin. Therefore, I always peel off the skin before cutting the potatoes into bite-size wedges. If you do not cook the potatoes immediately, put them in water to prevent from changing color. 

From here, you can either use them directly or pan-fry until slightly brown before braising with the chicken. Browning will surely enhance the flavor.

Onion and garlic 

Cut the onion into thin slices and loosen the rings. Saute the onion rings with some oil until soft and translucent. You can also saute the onions much longer until caramelized if you prefer a stronger flavor. 

There is no fixed formula since the home-cooked meal is very flexible. Each family has a secret recipe, and my mother did not use garlic. Despite this, my wife likes garlic very much and always saute some to braise with the chicken. I will use some garlic in this recipe, but you can omit it. 

Tomato 

Some recipes do not include tomatoes, but I like to slice some and add to the chicken while braising, as it complements the taste of chicken and potatoes.

The seasonings

You only need light soy sauce, salt, sugar, and pepper. These are the basics ingredients in the kitchen pantry. Nothing is fancy, but it will turn out incredibly tasty.

2. Braise the chicken and potatoes 

Here is the detailed on how to prepare the Cantonese style braised chicken and potatoes. 

Preparation

• Cut the chicken meat into bite-size (or bone-in chicken chunks) 
• Marinate the chicken with light soy sauce and salt. The time required varies, from thirty minutes for bite-size meat to one to two hours for large chunks. 
• Peel off the skin of the potato. Cut the potatoes in small wedges, about the size of the chicken. 
• Cut a tomato into slices. Set aside. 
• Cut a medium-sized onion into slices and loosen the onion rings. 
• Bash the garlic, then coarsely chopped. 
• Heat some cooking oil in the pan. Saute the garlic until aromatic. Remove the garlic and use the remaining oil to pan-fry the chicken meat until slightly brown. Omit this step if you are using bone-in chicken chunks. 
• Remove the chicken. Add some additional oil to brown the potatoes lightly. 
• Next, saute the onion until soft and translucent. Alternatively, saute longer until the onion rings are caramelized. 

Braise the chicken and potatoes

• Now return all the remaining ingredients into the pan. Add some water to braise until the potatoes are tender. If you are using chicken chunks, add it to the pan together with the potatoes, which will be cooked at about the same time. If you are using chicken meat, you may add later to ensure the chicken is not overcooked. 
• Season the braised chicken and potatoes with salt and pepper. 
• Combine one teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water to form a slurry.
• Thicken the braising liquid with the cornstarch slurry. Remove from the pan and serve. 

Continue to Content

Braised Chicken and Potatoes

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Braised chicken and potatoes 薯仔焖鸡 is a familiar home-cooked dish served in Cantonese households. My family used to cook it frequently because all the ingredients are readily available, quick and easy, and is a one-pot balanced meal.

Print

Ingredients

• 200g chicken breast meat
• 200g potatoes
• 100g onions
• A medium-sized tomato
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp cornstarch (mix with 1 tbsp of water)
• Sufficient water to cover the chicken and potatoes

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size.
2. Marinate the chicken with light soy sauce and salt for thirty minutes.
3. Cut the potatoes in small wedges.
4. Cut a tomato into slices. Set aside.
5. Cut a medium-sized onion into slices and loosen the onion rings.
6. Saute the garlic until aromatic.
7. Pan-fry the chicken meat until slightly brown.
8. Brown the potatoes lightly.
9. Next, saute the onion until soft and translucent.
10. Now return all the remaining ingredients into the pan. Add some water to braise until the potatoes are tender.
11. Season with salt and pepper. Thicken the braising liquid with the cornstarch slurry. Serve.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 616Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 1840mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 48g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 2/10/2020