Step 1

Debone the chicken leg quarters, keeping the skin on. Keep the bones to make a homemade stock, which you’ll be using in this recipe. You might be able to ask your butcher to help you with this step!

Step 2

In a small pot, add your reserved chicken bones, 2 ½ cups water, and ginger. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour (or longer). We’ll need 1 ½ cups of chicken broth for the recipe. You can also eliminate this step if you want to use store-bought chicken stock.

Step 3

Rinse off your de-boned chicken and pat thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Grab 2 pieces of aluminum foil, each about 12” long. Lay each piece of chicken onto a piece of foil, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Roll up the chicken lengthwise, and then wrap in the foil, twisting both sides to form a candy-like bundle.

Step 4

Steam the chicken in the foil over high heat for 20 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the steamer for another 5 minutes with the lid tightly closed.

Step 5

Transfer the foil wrapped chicken to an ice bath, and let it sit there for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is completely cool. This step ensures that the juices remain locked in and improves the chicken’s overall texture.

Step 6

Now it’s time to make the brine. In a non-reactive container (I used a glass loaf pan. Anything narrow and deep, where the chicken can remain submerged, will work), add the 1 ½ cups chicken broth, 1 ½ cups shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, and goji berries. Once the chicken is cool, unwrap the chicken and place in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.v

Step 7

Slice and serve cold or at room temperature. This dish is usually served as a cold appetizer. Remember to store the chicken in the brine until serving and use clean utensil whenever coming contact with the brine and chicken. Consume the chicken within 3 days.

Step 8

Note: We did this dish with equal parts wine and broth. You can change the ratio according to your own tastes, whether you like a stronger or lighter wine taste. But beware…upping the ratio of wine can make the chicken bitter, so proceed with caution.