Soy sauce had its humble beginnings in ancient China where people used a combination of seasonings known as jiang to preserve foods. Today, soy sauce has a firm place in America's culinary landscape; it is used as a stand-alone seasoning as well as for the base of many flavorful sauces and dishes like Garlic and Soy Chicken.
Ingredients
The basic recipe for Garlic and Soy Chicken involves three simple ingredients---soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce, fresh garlic cloves and some type of raw chicken. Depending on the preparation method used, you might need a small amount of cooking oil as well. A common ratio is three to five cloves of minced garlic, depending on how strong you want the garlic flavor, to one-half cup of soy sauce for each pound of chicken.
Other common additions to the sauce include honey, brown sugar, fresh grated ginger, lemon juice, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar or cilantro. Add thinly sliced vegetables, like bell peppers, carrots, scallions, bamboo shoots or water chestnuts, to the sauce to add a bit of texture.
Any cut of chicken works well with this dish, although the most commonly used cut is bone-in or boneless chicken thighs. Get adventurous and try different cuts like breasts, legs, wings or even a whole chicken.
Preparation
Use the sauce as a marinade for the chicken. Simply place the chicken in a resealable bag, pour in the sauce, seal the bag and shake to coat. Place the bag in the refrigerator for one to four hours. Drain off any excess marinade and discard it to avoid health risks from any juices of the raw chicken. Make additional sauce if you would like to use some during the cooking process or as a sauce.
Place the chicken in a preheated 350-degree oven or on a hot grill, and cook it for roughly 30 minutes. The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends cooking poultry to a minimum internal temperature of 165 F degrees to eliminate any health risks.
Nutrition
The National Academy of Sciences, the National High Blood Pressure Education Program and the American Heart Association recommend limiting your daily intake of sodium, a major component of soy sauce, to no more than 2,400 milligrams. If you are conscious about your sodium intake, brush the sauce on the chicken during the cooking process and skip the marinating step.
For a healthy meal, grill or bake skinless chicken with no cooking oils used. The meat from a one-pound ready-to-cook chicken has a mere two grams of fat and 86 calories. Any additional calories depend on other ingredients added to the sauce, or on the side dishes served with the chicken.
Variations
Place a whole chicken in a slow cooker. Mix one cup of soy sauce with eight to ten whole cloves of smashed garlic and one-half cup of rice wine vinegar. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook over low heat for six to eight hours. Allow the chicken to cool slightly. Remove the meat from the bones and shred it. Serve the chicken over white rice and top with a sprinkling of sliced scallions.
A less healthy, but delicious, version of the dish is a takeoff on buffalo wings traditionally served in pubs. Fry the desired amount of chicken wings, a few at a time, in oil heated to 375 degrees F for roughly five to seven minutes. While the wings are frying, add the basic sauce along with one-half cup of honey and one-quarter cup of butter to a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat until the mixture is slightly reduced. Add the cooked chicken wings and toss to coat. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
Complementary Dishes
Any chicken dish made with this sauce is well-suited for traditional Asian sides such as white rice or rice noodles. A side salad with an Asian-ginger dressing completes the meal. When preparing the chicken on the grill, place some slices of fresh pineapple on the grill during the last six minutes of cooking. Cook the pineapple for three minutes on each side, or until grill char marks appear.
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