Today, while at my local veggie shop, I came across these. Beautiful Australian purple garlic. Naturally I had no choice but to buy 3 heads (on top of the normal white garlic I already had at home). So that leaves me with the question; what do I do with all this garlic? The answer? Three cup chicken.

Three cup chicken is a Taiwanese dish and is so simple to make. Basically all three cup chicken recipes are based on the 1:1:1 ratio of the three main ingredients, being soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. From there the variations begin. Most recipes contain a few cloves of garlic. This recipe uses a whole head. And I love it! It’s a great dish for those colder months when the family is starting to get the sniffles. My chilli plant is sporting a number of beautiful red chilli’s as well which will go wonderfully.  All that garlic, ginger and chilli will knock any lurking colds right away. Though on the flip side, the amount of garlic used means that this may not be the best dish for a romantic night in. Garlic breath does not always mix well with candle lit dinners.

My chilli plant

Ingredients:

1 whole head of garlic (cloves peeled and minced)
1 inch ginger, grated
2 red chillies finely sliceD
1/2 cup scallion finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
400g chicken tenderloins

Method:

1. Heat the sesame oil in a large fry pan.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic, grated ginger and sliced chillies and stir for a minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the chicken and stir for a few minutes until all the pink is gone.
4. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar and bring to the boil, then turn down to a low heat and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the chicken in completely cooked and the liquid has reduced and thickened.
5. Add the scallions and basil and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Serve over rice and enjoy!