This chicken takes slow cooked deliciousness to a whole new level. Packed full of proper Chinese flavours, super juicy with the added bonus of glorious brown crunchy bits, it takes just 5 minutes to prepare this Chinese Shredded Chicken.
Like Shredded Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken Breast, this Asian shredded chicken is ideal to toss through noodles, in a stir fry, pile into buns, use in salads or serve over rice! Instructions included for making this in a slow cooker or on the stove.
Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken
“Slow cooked juicy shreds of chicken soaked with Chinese flavours with brown crunchy bits? Yes please!”
I think this is a great example of a dish that uses just a few ingredients and can transform into something sensational and quite unique. This chicken is braised in classic Chinese flavours, the base of which is Chinese cooking wine. Chinese cooking wine is available in large supermarkets in Australia but I really recommend you go to an Asian grocery store because it is far cheaper. I bought a 750ml/25oz bottle for just $0.99!
If you don’t have Chinese cooking wine, you can substitute with sherry. Be sure to use a dry one, not a sweet one, otherwise it will be far too sweet!
In addition to the Chinese cooking wine, the braising liquid has other classic Chinese flavours, including garlic, ginger and sugar. It also has vinegar in it, to balance out the sweetness. I used black vinegar, which is a Chinese vinegar (you can also get it at supermarkets but is much cheaper at Asian grocery stores!) but you can substitute with any other vinegar other than balsamic vinegar. Preferably a brown vinegar but white will also work.
The braising liquid is fantastic as it is infused with the flavour of the slow cooked chicken so is essential an incredible stock. Serve it on the side with the chicken or use it as a stir fry sauce which is what I did for a Crispy Shredded Chicken Noodle Stir Fry. If you add a splash of vinegar, it is also brilliant used as a salad dressing.
“One chicken will serve 10 to 12 people. Shredded meat always goes so much further than I expect.”
This recipe makes ALOT. Any recipe where the meat is shredded seems to make more than you expect. Ordinarily, I would say a 4 lb / 2 kg roast chicken would serve 6 people. But when you shred it, it will easily serve 8 to 10 people, or up to 12 if you use it for things like stir fries and salads.
My favourite way of serving this is simply piled high on a plate, scattered with shallots / scallions, with plain rice and some steamed vegetables on the side.
This Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken freezes extremely well and is very versatile so it’s really handy to have on hand for quick meals. Here are some other ideas for things you can make and ways to serve it:
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Stir fried noodles – stir fry the chicken with noodles and vegetables using the braising liquid as the sauce. Like this Crispy Shredded Chicken Noodle Stir Fry;
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Serve with rice and a side of vegetables, like this Restaurant Style Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce;
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Fried rice;
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Salad – toss with leafy greens and/or vermicelli noodles. Add a splash of rice vinegar (or any other vinegar) to the braising liquid and use it as the dressing;
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Pile onto steamed buns, drizzle with braising liquid; and
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Roll up spring roll wrappers, spray with oil and bake until golden.
Love to hear what you think! If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments section below and I’ll be sure to answer them.
Happy cooking! – Nagi
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Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 - 4 lb / 1.5 - 2 kg whole chicken , skin on
- 2 1/2 cups Chinese cooking wine (or sherry) (see notes)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (or substitute with white sugar)
- 1/4 cup black vinegar (or substitute with malt vinegar, or white vinegar. Don't use balsamic)
- 1 1/4 cups light soy sauce (or substitute with 3/4 cup ordinary soy sauce + 1/2 cup water + 1 tsp salt)
- 3 tbsp coarsely chopped ginger (no need to peel)
- 4 garlic cloves , crushed (not minced - see notes)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable, peanut or canola)
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Place all ingredients except the oil in slow cooker.
- Slow cook on low for 8 hours.
Stove Top
- Place all ingredients except the oil in a pot in which the chicken fits quite snugly but not tightly (you don't want the sides of the chicken pressed up tightly against the wall of the pot).
- Put lid on and bring to boil over high heat. Turn heat down to low and let it simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone.
Shredding and Crisping
- Remove chicken from braising liquid.
- Shred with your hands or two forks, including the skin. The meat should fall off very easily.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil over high heat in a large heavy based fry pan.
- Add chicken (enough to cover the pan without crowding it) and drizzle over braising liquid.
- Cook until the underside is browned and crispy (about 1 1/2 minutes), then remove from the pan. Don't flip the chicken (see notes).
- Repeat with remaining chicken (it takes me 3 batches).
- Serve with rice, on rice stick noodles or on a salad with the remaining braising liquid on the side. It is also great in fried rice.
To Store
- This freezes really well, before or after browning the chicken. Just divide into freezer bags, label then freeze. If you froze it before browning the chicken, then brown it after thawing.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Love this recipe, first of many I’m going to try, came across your site by accident – so glad I did. Couldn’t find the Chinese Wine so used some Tequila, then found the wine and put that in too, didn’t measure very carefully & probably used a bit less sugar. Cooked in a pot for about 2 hours. Delicious – made the noodles with fresh veg with one lot, have quite a bit left to pop in the freezer for our next fried rice. Definitely will be making again and again. Thank you.
Oooh! Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed this Marg!! 🙂
This recipe sounds yummy. I will try this very soon. While you seem to have delicious recipes, I wonder if you might have one for Shrimp and Lobster Sauce, with a Dark Sauce, not a Tan Sauce. I have Dark Soy Sauce and Fermented Black Beans but I don’T seem capture the Right Flavor I get when I eat this in a Restaurant. Thank You for your Consideration. Kent
Hi Kent! I’m sorry I don’t have one with a dark sauce. How does the flavour differ from the light coloured sauce?
Well that was delicious Nagi!
Like Christine I failed miserably on the crunching step…
2 factors I think- 1)?? too much braising liquid drizzled??
2) After 8 hours in the slow cooker my chicken was FLAT! So rather than shred with my hands I was removing chicken bones from mushed chicken… I think maybe a slightly shorter cook would have made it shreddable – might try the 6 hours the slow cooker wanted to use next time…
Flavour was fantastic.
So glad you enjoyed it Janis! Thank you for the tip – I will update the recipe to shorten the cook time for stronger slow cookers 🙂 I think mine may be less powerful than yours!
Roughly how much braising liquid do we drizzle over while crisping the chicken?
Hi Janis! About 3 tbsp per batch will be just perfect! 🙂
Thanks Nagi – in that case I think I used too much – my husband is still requesting more though despite the lack of crisp!
He especially loved the noodle stir fry
Thank you so much for putting this recipe on line. I’m in London UK and getting the wine wasn’t that easy or cheap as 2 bottles from the supermarket wasn’t enough. By the way we call it rice wine. However, the taste is devine and I’ve pre cooked and fried it so can’t wait for the reaction from my friends tonight. I’ve made rice (just to fry later) and noodles which I’ll mix with veg. We all love Chinese but I’ve never tried this kind of thing before. Thanks again.
Oooh! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Myra!! And I’m impressed with your hunting down of the wine!!! I didn’t know it was called rice wine in the UK! I lived there for a while for work and I remember seeing big bottles at Asian stores for quite cheap?? Thanks for coming back to let me know you enjoyed this Myra!!
Just made this tonight with toasted brioche buns, kewpie mayonnaise and a carrot/cucumber/Apple slaw (simple white wine vinegar, caster sugar dressing). Went down an absolute treat! Thanks for the recipe. Was a bit worried cooking it on the stove as we don’t have a slow cooker but turned out great!
Whoot whoot! SO GLAD you enjoyed this Lizzie, THANK YOU for letting me know!! 🙂
mmm, tried this today and it was so good! i failed on the crunching step though. I first tried it in the oven under the broiler (I do carnitas that way) but it didn’t seem to be working, so then I moved to your method with the pan, and all i accomplished was burning the braising liquid on the bottom of the pan. It still tasted fabulous though.
In the recipe pictures it looks like you use a sheet pan for the crisping, do you have oven directions?
Hi Christine! Try lowering the stove heat 🙂 Sounds like yours is stronger than mine! The photos are misleading, sorry! I used a sheet pan to pile the chicken on once cooked! 🙂
Recipe looks yummy. Can’t wait to try it! Is there another name for Chinese cooking wine in the U.S.? Also, where can I find the recipe for Asian fusion Tacos please? I searched your site, but to no avail.
THX!!!
Yes! It’s also known as Shaoxing wine (Shaohing, Shaoshing). 🙂 Thanks for the question, I’ll check it out! As for Asian fusion tacos, check out Hapa Nom Nom! that’s the site I use for my fusion Asian tacos!!
This recipes looks great! I have family coming over this weekend and plan to try it. If I can’t find black vinegar, would seasoned rice wine be a good substitute?
Hi Nerissa! Malt vinegar would be a good substitute, otherwise yes, rice wine or rive wine vinegar is fine!
Wow, loved it and must have gone to same supermarket for the 99c wine! So easy and you get every last scrap of chicken. No waste and a huge plate full.
I crisped it up and served with noodles and Asian greens.
Only two of us so more meals to come.
Question. Do you think I could freeze some of the braising liquid. Hate to waste it.
HA! I sometimes do wonder how on earth they manage to sell a whole bottle of cooking wine for $0.99!! Surely even shipping it from China costs more than that?!
YUP you sure can freeze the braising liquid. Use it as a sauce for stir fries or for fried rice! It’s really fab as the seasoning for fried rice – toss in whatever you want into the wok with cooked rice and drizzle with the braising liquid. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it! N x
This is another winner! Thanks again Nagi. (I seem to be cooking about 2 of your recipes each week!)
Do you have any idea how happy that makes me?? Hearing that is exactly the reason why I started this blog, after months (years!) of umm-ing about whether I should take the plunge…so THANK YOU so much for taking the time to come back and let me know when you enjoy a recipe! It really means a lot to me. PS And this one – I thought you would like it – it’s based on a Neil Perry recipe!! Though he used lamb (which I didn’t like as much – I just thought these Chinese flavours were better suited to chicken 🙂 I hope he never readers this comment!!)
Whoa! I just came over to check out your series on carnitas (which is awesome, btw) and found this! I am SOOOO making it. I just showed it to my husband and he said, “Um, yes please.” I’d seen this in your noodle stir-fry, but was so focused on the Chinese broccoli that I didn’t really take note of the amazing chicken.
Thanks Marissa! So glad you like the look of this – I love, love, LOVE this! It’s loosely based on a recipe by Neil Perry, he really knows how to cook Asian, he’s a genius! 🙂
Looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it! 2 questions though. I usually cook chicken for 8 hrs on low. Surprised you say 8 hrs on high. Won’t it be dry if you cook that long in high? Also, my family prefers dark meat. I was thinking of trying your recipe using boneless thighs as well as drumsticks. What do you think about that idea?
Hi Sherry! The meat was not dry at all because it is in the slow cooker so no moisture escapes, it’s for a whole chicken (not pieces) + the chicken is in a braising liquid. 8 hours on high gives you fall apart chicken that you can shred with even just one fork and gives the braising liquid a really incredible flavour to use as a stock. It will still shred easily if you cook on high for 6 hours, but 8 hours definitely is not overcooking it. Also the lovely thing about slow cookers is that it is so forgiving. It is actually really hard to overcook something in a slow cooker!
Boneless thighs and drumsticks will definitely work! I am with you on the dark meat. You just need to adjust the cooking time. I would do 8 hours on low. 🙂
Mmmm….Nagi! Just looking at this makes me want to run to the kitchen and dust out my slow cooker- I am acquiring great tips from you .
Get that slow cooker out Imma!! Some of your recipes are just made for transforming into slow cooker versions! 🙂
do you cook the chicken with the skin on or do you take it off before cooking?
Hi Linda – I cook it with the skin on. Thank you for asking, I’ll clarify in the recipe!
Yay! A slowcooker recipe. I love using the slowcooker – such a time saver. This would be great to use in Asian-fusion Tacos too!
Hi Sarah – this would be PERFECT for Asian-fusion tacos! You could use the braising liquid as the sauce to drizzle over. Shredded cabbage and carrots would be a great addition to complete the taco!
Hi Nagi! This recipe looks really good, could I ask with the chicken used, do you use raw chicken or roast chicken?
Hi Sam! I used a whole raw chicken. It works best with a whole chicken rather than breast or fillet pieces because it keeps the chicken much MUCH juicer when you shred it! I hope that helps!
I am always looking for easy meals that yield a lot because I don’t have a lot of time to cook during the week. This looks so delicious. I cannot wait to try this. I’m sharing this on my Pinterest!
Thanks Connie!! That’s exactly my thoughts to. I have little bags of this chicken in my freezer pretty much all the time. I use it to throw into soups, fried rice, salads, stir fries – so many things!
This looks delicious and I love the idea that it freezes well. I’ll definitely have this prepared and ready to go when the kids are home over the holidays! Pinned!
Thanks Annie!! Yes, it is a great one to have on hand for the holidays, especially when you have the kids home!
I can look at those photos and almost taste the salty, sour and sweet flavours of that chicken. I’ve got a crowd coming over next week and they’re going to eat this! Stress free entertaining.
Hi Maureen – stress free entertaining is right!! That’s a great way to describe it. Could you write the descriptions of all my recipes please??