40 Garlic Chicken––or more fancy-like…Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic––is a classic French dish that yes, does involve adding a mind boggling amount of garlic to one chicken dish. The first time I tried it, however, I was surprised at how…not all that garlicky it was. After braising with the chicken, the garlic had a super mellow, sweet flavor that wasn’t at all like the spicy, pungent taste you might get from it when it’s raw (which I happen to also love. Exhibit A: 15-Minute Hot Oil Noodles).
I decided to take a traditional 40 garlic chicken, which may conjure images of pastoral landscapes, ceramic milk jugs, and all other manner of rustic French provencal mise en scène, and Asianify it a little, which I happen to enjoy doing immensely. Truth be told, I didn’t have enough vermouth to make the real thing and decided to substitute some of it with Shaoxing wine. I thought, “eh, why not get crazy and throw a little soy sauce in there while I’m at it?” Which I promptly did. And because I didn’t have any parsley or thyme, I ended up using cilantro to garnish the dish at the very end. And so it was.
You’ll want to try this one.
If, by any chance, you don’t much look forward to the prospect of peeling 40 cloves of garlic, I’ll have you know that I did it. I stood there with my knife and my increasingly garlicky fingers, smashing and peeling all 40 cloves (well, 38. I happen to not like the number 4. Which is a dislike instilled in me from a young age by Chinese grandparents. Don’t ask.). After the fact, however, I discovered this video, which shows you how to peel it all in less than 10 seconds. And then I was mad.
But not too mad, because I had a lovely dinner to look forward to.
You’ll need:
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 4 lbs chicken pieces (i.e. bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, thighs, or legs)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 40 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/4 cup shaoxing wine
- 1/4 cup dry vermouth
- 2/3 cup chicken stock
- small handful of cilantro, chopped (optional)
Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Rinse the chicken, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on each side until crisp. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
Transfer the chicken to a deep roasting pan or baking dish and set aside. Add the garlic cloves and ginger to the pan where you cooked the chicken; cook until caramelized, about 8 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and vermouth, and cook for another 2 minutes, deglazing the pan as you go.
Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken and transfer to the oven.
Roast for 25-30 minutes, and garnish with cilantro if desired.
Serve this Asian style 40 garlic chicken with a green vegetable and white rice on the side!
The garlic in this 40 clove garlic chicken taste caramelized, mellow and very flavorful!
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 4 lbs chicken pieces (i.e. bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, thighs, or legs)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 40 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup shaoxing wine
- ¼ cup dry vermouth
- ⅔ cup chicken stock
- small handful of cilantro
- Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Rinse the chicken, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on each side until crisp. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
- Transfer the chicken to a deep roasting pan or baking dish and set aside. Add the garlic cloves and ginger to the pan where you cooked the chicken; cook until caramelized, about 8 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and vermouth, and cook for another 2 minutes, deglazing the pan as you go. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken and transfer to the oven. Roast for 25-30 minutes, and garnish with cilantro.
Jessica Kirsner says
I’m making this tonight with a bunch of sliced jalapenos and some Szechuan peppercorns added in: I’ll let you know how it goes!
Sarah says
Nice!! Looking forward to hearing back, Jessica!
joyce kano says
the sound for “4” in Chinese & Japanese is the same sound as the word death. considered unlucky. that is my understanding.
looking forward to trying this asian twist to a classic recipe.
Bill says
Hi Joyce,
The Chinese language is tricky with small changes that make a big difference! you’re right that “4” or si does indeed sound like death, but forty or sishi now alters the word and full pronunciation so that the “death” portion of the words has less emphasis. This comment is for Sarah too ;-) Nevertheless, try this great recipe and thanks for your comment!
Patience says
Wow Sarah!
I cooked this tonight for my family and it was a knockout! (in terms of completely fabulous taste, not ridiculously overwhelming garlic ….). I did it with 6 thighs and 6 drumsticks. I wish it weren’t so hard to find skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, argh.
I had no vermouth so did a full 1/2 cup of shaoxing wine. I’m not sure what vermouth would have given me extra because the shaoxing seemed to work really well.
I feel like this would be good for a big crowd – it looked very impressive and smelt extraordinary when I pulled it out of the oven.
Kids loved it (refused to eat garlic cloves though – but hey, more for me) and us parents loved it too. I might add a little more soy sauce next time? But otherwise, thank you again for the amazing inspiration!
Sarah says
Wow, thank you so much for sharing your experience, Patience! It’s so awesome to hear that the whole family enjoyed it. Those roasted garlic cloves are the best, aren’t they? :)
karrie says
Hi! If I don’t have dry vermouth, can i leave it out? Or would it change the flavor profile too much?
Thanks :D
Sarah says
Hey Karrie, you can substitute the vermouth with more shaoxing wine, or just a dry white wine!
karrie says
thanks Sarah! I’m looking forward to making this dish tonight :)
Gigi says
I tried today and it was sooooooooo goood! my boyfriend was impressed!
Kaitlin says
Hi Gigi, Yay! Glad it worked out. Always satisfying to exceed expectations :)