Chinese Style Drunken Chicken Liver

Drunken chicken (zui ji/醉鸡) is a popular Chinese cold dish that usually whets the appetite before the main course comes on—tender poached chicken is marinated in Shaoxing wine, delicious and juicy and oh so easy to eat a lot of (or too much of) before food is served.

While the use of chicken meat is the most well known, it isn’t the only thing that is cooked in this way—chicken and duck feet, pigs feet, chicken and duck wings, pig ears etc. are all the kinds of drunken cold meats that you can find… but the latter is less often found in restaurants, and more often in a Chinese grandma’s fridge. My favorite of these is drunken chicken liver, which as far as I know is only found in my mother’s fridge. Delicate, with the consistency of pate and the sublime flavor of shaoxing wine permeating through, I have to be careful not to eat far too much of it in one sitting (but it’s tough when it’s right in front of you while you’re watching your favorite show!)

My mom has left for Costa Rica again (she and my dad switch every few months in order to keep an eye on their farms and their newly build mall/hotel thing where my sister will be opening her own restaurant) which means my unlimited supply of drunken chicken liver has come to an end. It’s not difficult to make, but still tastes better when someone makes it for you—I was craving it and so I endeavored to make it myself. The recipe is from my mom, although she gave me no measurements but I suppose measurements are unnecessary in this case—you’ll see why in a minute.

Shaoxing cooking wine is already salted, so I found cutting it with brine kinda unnecessary, but if you don’t have shaoxing, a close substitute in flavor is a very dry sherry, which you’ll have to dissolve salt into. Make sure you choose a good brand of Shaoxing as that makes all the difference.

Ingredients

• 1lb chicken livers, washed, trimmed, and discolored portions discarded.
• 1 pot of water, brought to a rolling boil
• 2 slices ginger
• Enough shaoxing cooking wine to cover the livers during their marinade

1. Place the chicken livers and the ginger slices in the boiling water, bring back to a boil, cover the pot, and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 2 hours, covered so it poaches. The water will be somewhat red.
2. Cover with shaoxing cooking wine and place in the fridge overnight. It will be ready to eat the next day.