COOK WITH LOOPWARE
MAIN · MAIN-009
Sour Cabbage & Chicken Hotpot (Suan Cai Ji)
Kitchen-tested
The northern Chinese pairing of sour cabbage and chicken: bone-in thighs, rinsed suan cai and shiitake in a soup-forward pot, with tofu slipped in at the end.
Ingredients
- — All in —
- 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 450 g), left whole, skin on
- 200 g pickled sour cabbage (suan cai), rinsed and chopped
- 1 tbsp dried shiitake, soaked until soft, soaking water kept
- 10 g ginger, sliced
- 1 tbsp rice wine (Shaoxing), spooned
- 290 ml water, poured from a measuring jug
- 1 tsp soy sauce, stirred, then spooned
- 0.8 g salt (about ¼ tsp), spooned level
- — Add after the timer —
- 200 g tofu firm naked, drained and cut into 2.5 cm cubes
Method
- Pour the rice wine and water into the cold 1.6 L container first — a wet base cannot catch. Then everything except tofu firm naked: bone-in chicken thighs, pickled sour cabbage (suan cai), dried shiitake, ginger, soy sauce and salt. Give it all a good stir and level it. Cooking lid on loose.
- Set the heat once: very gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 130 minutes. Constant watching is not needed, but an occasional stir keeps anything from catching on the base — especially if you ever smell burning. Alternatively, if time is pressed: bring it to the boil on a higher heat — about 6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob — stirring now and then; that takes about 19–33 minutes. As soon as it boils, turn it back down to the gentle setting and set a timer for 49 minutes: about 68–81 minutes in all instead of 130. Do not leave it on the higher heat once it is boiling.
- When the timer goes off: stir in the tofu firm naked. Set a timer for 3 minutes.
- When it goes off, check: the chicken pulls from the bone and the soup is sharp and savoury. Not there yet? Cooking lid back on loose; set a timer for 5 more minutes and check again.
- Rest for 5 minutes, then serve from the container.
- To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, cooking lid on loose, add 30 ml water if the sauce has set firm, and use a gentle-to-medium heat — about 4–6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 8 minutes; stir, then give it 5 minutes more until it is bubbling all over and piping hot right through. From frozen: add 50 ml water around the block, cooking lid on loose, use the same gentle heat for 16 minutes; loosen and stir, then give it 10 minutes more until bubbling all over and piping hot right through.
Heat
| Stage | Heat into the pan | Induction hob (settings 1–9) | Portable induction hob | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook — one setting, start to finish | about 78–190 W (very gentle — slow-cooker territory) | about 4 of 9 | level 1 (the 114 W setting) | it comes up quietly and then holds gentle bubbles; liquid always covers the base |
| Reheat from the fridge or from frozen | gentle to medium | about 4–6 of 9 | level 2 (the 300 W setting) | bubbling all over and piping hot right through |
Hob settings are not standard — the same number means different heat on different hobs. The power figures show how hard the pan is actually being heated. The settings shown are for a typical fitted induction hob with settings 1–9, and for a plug-in portable induction hob with power settings. Go by what you see in the pan, then remember the setting that gave it on your own hob.
Cook’s checks
- the chicken pulls from the bone and the soup is sharp and savoury; sauce still visibly mobile at the bottom; bottom clean.
- Nearly dry before tender: add 30 ml hot water. Still firm at the top of the window: 5 more minutes, lid on.
- Cook with the cooking lid loose or vented; never heat with a friction-fit storage lid sealed. Container and lid get very hot — cloth or oven gloves.
Nutrition
| Serving | Calories | Protein | Fat | Saturates | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Fibre | Salt / sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 556 kcal | 45 g | 36 g | 9.3 g | 13 g | 1.7 g | 3.9 g | 1.2 g sodium (3.0 g salt) |
Nutrition information is provided for general reference only. Values are estimates based on typical ingredient data and will vary with brands, cuts, portion sizes and preparation. They are not intended as precise nutritional, dietary or medical guidance.