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:

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;

Serve with rice and a side of vegetables, like this Restaurant Style Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce;

Fried rice;

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;

Pile onto steamed buns, drizzle with braising liquid; and

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

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates. Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats Prep: 5 mins Cook: 8 hrs Total: 8 hrs 5 mins Slow Cooker Asian, Chinese 5 from 19 votes Servings 10 -12 Tap or hover to scale Print 446

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This is one of those Chinese dishes that tastes great even if you have to substitute one or two of the ingredients or get the quantities a bit wrong. I really encourage you to go to an Asian Grocery store to get Chinese cooking wine because it is so cheap! I bought a large bottle for A$0.99 (less than US$1.00). This shredded chicken is great served on rice, with noodles (like this Crispy Shredded Chicken Noodle stir fry ), in fried rice, stir fries or even on salads. Ingredients 3 - 4 lb / 1.5 - 2 kg whole chicken , skin on 3 - 4 lb / 1.5 - 2 kg whole chicken , skin on

2 1/2 cups Chinese cooking wine (or sherry) (see notes) 2 1/2 cups Chinese cooking wine (or sherry) (see notes)

3/4 cup brown sugar (or substitute with white sugar) 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) 1/4 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) 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) 3 tbsp coarsely chopped ginger (no need to peel)

4 garlic cloves , crushed (not minced - see notes) 4 garlic cloves , crushed (not minced - see notes)

3 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable, peanut or canola) 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: 1. Chinese cooking wine is available in large supermarkets but I really recommend going to an Asian grocery store where you can pick up a 750 ml / 25 oz bottle for as little as $0.99! It's also known as Shaoxing wine (Shaohing, Shaoshing). 2. To crush garlic cloves, just bang down on the clove (skin on) with the side of a knife or meat mallet so it bursts open but is still largely one piece. The skin should slip straight off. 3. By only browning one side of the chicken, you get both the crunchy brown bits as well as retaining the incredible juiciness of the shredded chicken. 4. The nutrition analysis assumes this 10 servings. It is higher than it should be because a lot of the fat renders out into the braising liquid and you do not use all the braising liquid. However, I can't estimate the effect of this so this is the nutrition analysis including all the fat on the chicken. Nutrition Information: Serving: 286 g Calories: 440 cal (22%) Carbohydrates: 15 g (5%) Protein: 60.2 g (120%) Fat: 10.3 g (16%) Saturated Fat: 2.5 g (16%) Cholesterol: 154 mg (51%) Sodium: 1927 mg (84%) Potassium: 489 mg (14%) Sugar: 11.2 g (12%) Vitamin A: 50 IU (1%) Vitamin C: 0.8 mg (1%) Calcium: 50 mg (5%) Iron: 2.7 mg (15%)

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