For readers who’ve been to or lived in some parts of China, a big dish of “big plate chicken” (大盘鸡, da pan ji) is like coming home. It’s one of those dishes that has caught on like wildfire in larger Chinese cities, and many restaurants have added it to their menus. This Chinese chicken stew recipe originated in the Xinjiang, China where bold and tasty spices are used like in our Xinjiang Fried Chicken.
大盘鸡, da pan ji also has a special place in my heart, because it makes me miss China—especially all that wonderful food. We’re all reminiscing about it these days—the ability to just walk out of the apartment, hail a cab for 3 bucks, and have a big, wonderful meal for 20-30 bucks. You can’t beat it.
I’m not going to lie, authentic big plate chicken should probably be cooked with a whole chicken, cut into small pieces with bones and skin still intact. That’s how it’s made in restaurants in China, and it’s a well-known fact that Asians love to gnaw on bones (plus, meat on the bone tends to be more tender and juicier). I’ve decided not to put you through that whole chicken preparation process, so we’re going to use the next best thing: boneless chicken thighs.
I think the brilliance of “big plate chicken” is in the noodles at the bottom of the plate, which soak up all the wonderful sauce. We hope you and your families will enjoy this truly wonderful one plate meal! You’ll need:
Big Plate Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Start by marinating the chicken. Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a bowl with the light soy sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine, and cornstarch. Set aside for 20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
When you’re ready to cook, heat the oil in a wok over low heat. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, whole dried red chilies, and sugar. Cook this mixture for 2 minutes, making sure they don’t burn.
Add the chicken and turn up the heat. Stir-fry until the chicken is seared.
Add the potatoes and carrots and stir-fry for a minute. Then add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cover the wok and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
While the chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Follow the package instructions to cook the dried noodle of your choice (preferably a thicker-style flat noodle). Drain.
Once the potatoes are cooked through, by now, there should be at least 1 – 1-1/2 cup of liquid in the wok, so add more water if needed. To your wok, stir in the bell peppers. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the scallions, and season with salt to taste.
Note: If you want more sauce, add a little more water to the wok. If the sauce is too thin, just turn up the heat to reduce and thicken the sauce.
Now transfer the noodles to a large plate, and cover with your chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately!
This Big Plate Chicken dish is a one plate meal with chicken, vegetables and noodles all in one dish. Enjoy this one folks!
Big Plate Chicken (Chinese Da Pan Ji) with Noodles
Ingredients
For marinating the chicken:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the rest of the dish:
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 4 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 bay leaves
- 6 slices fresh ginger
- 5 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 6 -10 whole dried red chilies (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 carrot (thinly sliced)
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 3 - 5 cups water (start with 3 cups and add more as needed)
- 8 oz. dried noodle of your choice (preferably a thicker-style flat noodle)
- 1 red bell pepper (cut into chunks)
- 1 green bell pepper (cut into chunks)
- Salt to taste
- 1 scallion (sliced)
Instructions
- Start by marinating the chicken. Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a bowl with the marinade ingredients. Set aside for 20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- When you're ready to cook, heat the oil in a wok over low heat. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, chilies, and sugar. Cook this mixture for 2 minutes, making sure they don’t burn. Add the chicken and turn up the heat. Stir-fry until the chicken is seared.
- Add the potatoes and carrots and stir-fry for a minute. Then add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cover the wok and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- While the chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Follow the package instructions to cook the noodles. Drain.
- Once the potatoes are cooked through, by now, there should be at least 1 1 1/2 cups of liquid in the wok so add more water if needed.To your wok, stir in the bell peppers. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the dish and season with salt to taste. Now transfer the noodles to a large plate, and cover with your chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately!
- Note: If you want more sauce, add a little more water to the wok. If the sauce is too thin, just turn up the heat to reduce and thicken the sauce.
nutrition facts
I ate this on special occasions when I lived in Urumqi. It’s absolutely delicious!
Hope you will give this recipe a try, Judy :-)
I made this last night along with the Uighur nan recipe on Food52 and it was delicious. My whole house smelled like a Xinjiang restaurant! I kept the garlic whole like they did at the restaurants I frequented in Shanghai years ago. Next time I’d add more – then you can smash them on the bread, which is always a good idea. I like the peppercorn but this had much more than I was used to. I think I’ll halve it next time. Thanks for another great recipe!
Sounds wonderful, Georgia, thank you for trying this recipe.
This is great. There are so many variation of this dish. We have our family version that caramelizes 1/4 cup sugar in hot oil, add the 1lb chicken thighs, 1 x shredded leek, 1 x red bell pepper, 2 x large waxy potatoes, litre of stock, garlic ginger paste… our spice mix is 2 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp kashmiri chilli, 1 tsp 5 spice, 1 tsp white pepper and 1 1/2 tsp ground sichuan pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp MSG. It is all cooked covered in a duch oven for 50 mins at 200C / 390F, then we take the lid off and cook for a final 10 minutes. Add freshly boiled flat noodles. Serve with freshly cut spring onions. It works well for a western kitchen and a family with kids. We call it “Famous Xinjiang Chicken” — we know its not authentic, just delicious for sitting down and eating together.
Sounds lovely, Dave, a happy family meal :-)