Hong Zao Ji: Fried Ginger and Chicken Simmered in Red Rice Wine
The fermented aroma and deep red color of the wine lees, the toasty edge of thinly sliced ginger fried in oil, the scent of glutinous rice wine, and a modest gravy that clings to small pieces of chicken thigh.
Six thin slices of ginger sizzle in a wok until crisp, then come out and wait on a small plate. Into the same oil go small pieces of chicken thigh already stained red with wine lees, and soon red glutinous rice wine is poured over them and the lid goes on. That is the whole rhythm of hong zao ji (紅糟鶏 / 红糟鸡 / 紅糟雞): a short, warm braise built on the by-products and wine of red rice fermentation.
The version on this page is the 500 g chicken-thigh braise published by wiffy, a Singapore-based home cook, on the recipe blog Noob Cook. wiffy presents it as a homely dish known in the local Chinese Foo Chow (Hock Chew) community and writes of coming to love it through their mother. It is one diaspora family's home version, not an official Fujian standard and not proof of where the dish began.
Two household-safety additions have been made to that recipe: the raw chicken marinates in the refrigerator, and doneness is confirmed with a thermometer rather than by the clock. This recipe has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan.
The common written forms are 红糟鸡 (simplified) and 紅糟雞 (traditional), romanized Hong Zao Ji. Noob Cook also writes it 红槽鸡, a spelling variant. The English name "red wine chicken" refers to red glutinous rice wine, not wine made from grapes.
Not a Grape Wine Braise: What Red Lees Are
Hong zao (紅糟) is the red, paste-like residue left after cooked glutinous rice is fermented with red yeast to make wine, as the food writer Jiao Tong (焦桐) describes it in a 2011 essay for Merit Times. In shops and on labels it may appear as red glutinous rice wine lees, 紅糟, 紅槽 or ang chow. The wine from the same kind of fermentation, red glutinous rice wine (红槽酒), is the braising liquid here.
Neither is the same thing as grape red wine, and neither is the same as red yeast rice grains, powders or supplements. Those are different products, and this recipe does not use them as stand-ins. In the comments on the recipe page, wiffy also answers that grape red wine is not close in taste.
Ingredients for 500 g Chicken Thigh
Red wine lees vary in saltiness from product to product, so taste the gravy at the end before adding more soy sauce or salt. Soy sauce contains soy, and two of the ingredients are sesame oil; check the labels of the lees and the rice wine for their own ingredients and allergen statements.
Equipment
- Wok with a lid
- Glass bowl with a fitted lid, for marinating
- Grater, for the ginger juice
- Chopsticks, for lifting out the fried ginger
- Spatula and tongs
- Small spoon, for tasting
- Instant-read food thermometer
- Small plate and a serving dish
Choosing and Substituting: Lees, Wine, Soy Sauce and Oil
Every substitution below swaps the wine or an oil. None of them replaces the red lees, which carry the dish's color and fermented character.
Red lees. Look for a food product labeled 紅糟, 紅槽, red glutinous rice wine lees or ang chow, and follow the storage directions on the package. Do not use red yeast rice grains, powders or supplements in its place. Use commercially prepared food-grade lees.
Red glutinous rice wine. If you cannot find it, use regular Chinese rice wine or water instead. Either changes the aroma and color. Grape red wine is not a substitute.
Light soy sauce. Use Chinese light soy sauce (生抽). Japanese usukuchi ("light") soy sauce is a different product, so don't assume one can replace the other measure for measure.
Frying oil. If you want less sesame aroma, swap the 1 tbsp of sesame oil used for frying for an ordinary cooking oil. Keep the 1 tsp of sesame oil in the marinade as it is.
Thermometer. A simple instant-read food thermometer is the tool that tells you when the chicken is done. The simmering times in this braise are guides, not a safety endpoint.
Method: From a Chilled Marinade to a Covered Braise
Keep raw chicken and its juices away from other food, and wash the bowl, board and utensils that touched it. The chicken is done only when the thickest part reaches 75°C and stays there for at least 1 minute, measured with a thermometer. Color, surface browning or simmering time alone are not enough to judge.
When Things Go Off Course
| Condition | Likely reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The chicken is below 75°C after both simmers | The two 5-minute periods are guides; piece size and heat vary | Cover and keep simmering, then measure the thickest piece again. Don't serve until it holds 75°C for at least 1 minute |
| The gravy tastes too salty | Red lees differ in saltiness by product | Skip the extra soy sauce or salt at the end. Next time, taste before adding anything beyond the 3/4 tbsp |
| The gravy tastes flat | Final seasoning | Add light soy sauce or salt a little at a time, tasting as you go |
| The sesame aroma is too strong | Sesame oil in both the marinade and the frying oil | Next time, swap only the 1 tbsp frying sesame oil for ordinary cooking oil |
| No red glutinous rice wine available | Specialty product | Use regular Chinese rice wine or water, accepting a change in aroma and color. Don't use grape wine |
Variations Within the Same Recipe
These options all come from the same Noob Cook page. Keep them separate from the base version above rather than combining several at once.
- Regular Chinese rice wine instead of red glutinous rice wine. Keep the red lees. The scent and color shift.
- Water instead of the rice wine. The rice-wine aroma drops away, but the lees remain, and how much alcohol they contribute is unknown. This does not make the dish alcohol-free.
- Ordinary oil for frying. Replace only the 1 tbsp of sesame oil used in the wok; leave the marinade's 1 tsp as it is.
- Half a chicken instead of thigh. The author lists this as an alternative. Pieces cut from a half chicken differ in size and thickness, so don't rely on the thigh timings; measure the thickest piece for 75°C held for at least 1 minute.
- A finishing splash of wine and coriander. The author also offers 2 tbsp red glutinous rice wine poured over the plated dish, plus coriander, both optional. The base version here leaves both out. The finishing wine is not heated at all, so it is not suitable for anyone who needs to avoid alcohol.
Red-Lees Chicken Around Fuzhou: Related Dishes, Not One Recipe
Red lees appear in more than one chicken dish connected with the Fuzhou area, and the names and methods do not line up into a single standard. Jiao Tong's essay describes several regional and preparation variants, including methods quite unlike this braise.
A feature from Changle News, hosted by the Changle District People's Government, documents a local chicken braised with red wine lees called 红糟焖鸡. That preparation uses half a chicken and 50 g of red lees with ginger, oil and water, in a different order of steps, and the page describes a red-colored dish for celebratory tables. It is a separate recipe, and its amounts are not used here.
The Minhou County People's Government profiles chef Lin Changsheng and a Jingxi, Minhou version of 醉糟鸡, in which the chicken is cooked and then plunged into ice water for crisp skin. That cooled method is a distinct dish from the warm braise on this page, and the local origin it claims belongs to that specific preparation.
Taken together, these sources show red-lees chicken living in Fuzhou-area kitchens and in Foochow communities abroad, such as the Singapore family behind this recipe. They do not establish a single place of origin or a province-wide standard form. For more dishes from across the country, see Chinese recipes.
At the table after childbirth
Noob Cook mentions the dish in the context of confinement food, the meals eaten after giving birth, and other sources make similar connections. That is reported custom. The health and recovery benefits sometimes attached to red lees are not supported by the sources here, and this page makes no such claim.
Leftovers
Don't leave the cooked chicken at room temperature for long. Divide leftovers into shallow containers so they cool quickly, refrigerate them, and reheat thoroughly before eating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the "red wine" in red wine chicken grape wine?
No. The dish uses red lees and red glutinous rice wine, both from fermenting glutinous rice with red yeast. The recipe's author says grape red wine is not close in taste.
Can I use regular Chinese rice wine or water?
Yes, both are options the author gives for replacing the red glutinous rice wine. Keep the red lees either way, and expect the aroma and color to change.
Does the alcohol cook off?
That can't be promised. The braise uses 200 ml of rice wine, and the alcohol left in the finished dish has not been measured. Using water instead does not establish that the lees contribute none. This recipe is not suitable for anyone who must strictly avoid alcohol.
Can I use red yeast rice or a red yeast supplement instead of red lees?
No. Those are different products from red wine lees and are not substitutes in this dish.
How long should I simmer it to be safe?
The recipe gives about 5 minutes before and about 5 minutes after adding the hot water, and lists roughly 10 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, with the 30-minute marinade on top. Those times are guides. Safety comes from the thickest part of the chicken reaching 75°C for at least 1 minute.
Is this the same as 醉糟鸡 (drunken lees chicken)?
Not necessarily. Names and methods vary between sources. The Minhou 醉糟鸡 described by its county government cools the cooked chicken in ice water, which is a different method from this warm braise.
Is it good for recovery after childbirth?
It is reported as a dish eaten during the postpartum confinement period, but no health or recovery benefit is confirmed by the sources used here.
How many servings does this make?
No serving count is given for the 500 g recipe, so none is stated here.
Sources
- wiffy, "Red Glutinous Wine Chicken Recipe (Hong Zao Ji)," Noob Cook (published 2011, updated January 2014). The author's description of the dish as a Foo Chow / Hock Chew community home dish, learning to love it through their mother, and its confinement-food context. https://noobcook.com/hong-zao-ji/
- wiffy, "Red Glutinous Wine Chicken Recipe (Hong Zao Ji)," page 2, Noob Cook. The 500 g chicken-thigh quantities, the 30-minute marinade and the order of steps; the rice wine, water and frying-oil alternatives; the half-chicken option; the note that lees vary in saltiness; the optional finishing wine and coriander; and the comment that grape red wine is not close in taste. https://noobcook.com/hong-zao-ji/2/
- wiffy, "About the noob cook," Noob Cook. The author's Singapore background and the blog as a collection of dishes the author has made. https://noobcook.com/about/
- Changle News, "红糟美食," hosted by the Changle District People's Government (2020). A separate local red-lee braised chicken, 红糟焖鸡, using half a chicken and 50 g red lees with a different method, and its red celebratory presentation. https://www.fzcl.gov.cn/xjwz/ztzl/clly/mstc/202003/t20200318_3222103.htm
- Jiao Tong (焦桐), "飲食關鍵詞：紅糟雞," Merit Times (2011). The description of red lees as the residue from fermenting cooked glutinous rice with red yeast, and the existence of multiple regional and preparation variants. https://www.merit-times.com.tw/NewsPage.aspx?unid=246284
- Minhou County People's Government, "这口醉糟鸡，是地道的闽侯味，也是他的匠心路" (2026). Chef Lin Changsheng's Jingxi, Minhou 醉糟鸡 and its method of cooling the cooked chicken in ice water. https://www.minhou.gov.cn/xjwz/mlmh/mytc/202603/t20260324_5299493.htm
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "家庭での食中毒予防" (Preventing food poisoning at home). The household guideline of a 75°C core temperature for at least 1 minute, not leaving cooked food at room temperature for long, cooling leftovers quickly in shallow containers, and reheating thoroughly. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/shokuhin/syokuchu/01_00008.html
