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'San bei' flavors a crowd pleaser

"I really love the san bei dishes - San Bei Ji (Three Cup Chicken), or San Bei Squid, or clams or eggplant," says The Food of Taiwan author Cathy Erway. "It has a flavor combination that I find irresistible, and I think it's so much fun that you can apply it to practically anything, like lamb or tofu and who knows what else.

"I think it's a crowd-pleasing dish to Americans and practically anyone who's come across it," she adds. "In my experience, it's one of the few Taiwanese dishes that people who aren't Taiwanese have actually heard of. Since writing the book, I have also heard many compliments on how good it tastes when people try making it themselves."

Here's how to do just that (recipe courtesy of the author and publisher):

Three Cup Chicken

The eponymous "cups" in this recipe's name denote equal parts soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar. It's a potent, salty and savory braised chicken dish with these ingredients alone, but the dish really gets its signature from the sheer volume of garlic cloves, thick pieces of ginger, and fresh basil leaves for flavor. This recipe's name might underscore the fact that most recipes were passed orally in Taiwan, rather than written, until recent generations. After one taste of it prepared elsewhere, it is quite irresistible to try recreating at home. This dish bears similarities with Hakka-style preparations and red-braised styles of cooking, but its use of basil is refreshingly distinct. It has been enjoyed in Taiwan as a quintessential Taiwanese dish for quite some time.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients

3/4 cup sesame oil

1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 12 to 15 thick discs

12-15 whole cloves garlic

4 whole scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 pounds bone-in chicken legs, thighs and wings, cut into roughly 2-inch pieces

2 to 3 small, fresh red chilies, halved or sliced

1 cup rice wine

1 cup light soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups packed fresh Thai basil leaves

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, scallions, and chilies, and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken pieces and lightly brown, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice wine and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the sauce has slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar until just dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. Serve immediately.