Taiwanese Sesame Oil Chicken Soup (Ma You Ji Tang)

Deeply warming, fragrant and restorative, Taiwanese Sesame Oil Chicken Soup (Ma You Ji Tang), is a minimalist masterpiece built on ginger, sesame oil, and rice wine. This is comfort food with purpose, where every ingredient is maxed out for flavour.

This is one of Taiwan’s most beloved and most fragrant soups — a dish that relies on its minimal ingredients rather than complexity. Chicken is gently fried in black sesame oil with ginger, then simmered with Taiwanese rice wine to create a broth that’s warming, aromatic and deeply savoury.

Come the cold, it’s a life-giver — but light enough to be enjoyed in any weather. Let me tell you, eating a hot soup in hot weather actually cools you down — trust the science!

This recipe is part of my Asian Collection and also my curated Asian Soups hub where you'll find some of my tastiest Asian recipes.

What's Ahead?

What is Ma You Ji Tang (麻油雞湯)?

This soup is a classic of Taiwanese home cooking, traditionally eaten during cooler months or as a restorative dish. Unlike heavily spiced or long-simmered soups, the flavour comes from just a few key elements: black sesame oil, fresh ginger, rice wine and chicken — and the whole bowl is ready in under an hour.

The broth is not meant to be heavy or complex — it’s clean, fragrant and warming, with the sesame oil providing richness and the wine adding gentle sweetness and depth. It's something very special indeed.

Why you'll love it

• It's deeply warming without being heavy.
• It's easy to make with only a few ingredients.
• It's quick to put together - in under an hour, you'll have yourself a big bowl of umami without having to wait hours for the soup to be ready.

Stuff You'll Need

This recipe does require a bit of searching for the right ingredients, but once you've got those, it's plain sailing.

• Taiwanese Cooking Wine - known as Michiu (or Mijiu, Mizhiu, Mi Jiu, or simply Taiwanese Rice Wine), will bring all the depth of flavour to the soup. This is the essential ingredient, and without it, you just won't be able to achieve the unique quality of the soup. Shop for Michiu⇾
• Black sesame oil is deeper and more robust than regular sesame oil and is essential for authentic flavour here. You can use a good quality roasted sesame oil as an alternative, albeit with a slightly less pungent flavour. Shop for Black Sesame Oil⇾
• Ginger and Spring Onion (Green Onion) - bring fragrance to the soup, especially the ginger which is key to the flavour and can't be left out.
• Chicken - Thighs and legs are great for the soup, especially if they have bone in. The bones help bring even more chicken flavour to the soup. I buy bone-in thighs and cut them into pieces with a cleaver. Breast won’t bring anything to the party — and will dry out, so avoid it.
• Sugar - to add a delightful sweetness to the soup, a little sugar is added. Use regular sugar or rock sugar if you can find it.

Step by Step

This soup is one of the simplest Asian soups at cookeatworld.com - see for yourself just how easy it is to pull together.

1. Fry the ginger in sesame oil for a few minutes to release all the flavour into the already smoky and nutty oil.
2. Add the chicken pieces and let them brown lightly in the fragrant oil.
3. Add the cooking wine and spring onion and let it simmer for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol.
4. Top up with water and season with a little salt and white pepper and let it simmer gently for 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. That’s it — too easy.

Substitutions & Variations

• Add Noodles - For a more substantial soup, I'll often add cooked noodles. Normally, a wheat noodle cooked separately and drained. I add those to the bottom of an Asian soup bowl and top with the piping hot soup and a few bits of chicken with a last sprinkle of thinly sliced spring onion.
• Add vegetables - The simple flavour of the soup is key, so I never add anything that will take over. Occasionally I've added a handful of cut Chinese Cabbage (Napa Cabbage/Wombok) or a couple of Bok Choy cut in half or a handful of beansprouts.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

Traditionally the soup is served as is, without noodles alongside a bowl of freshly cooked white rice. Super clean and simple.

• Fridge - Keeps perfectly well for 4-5 days, just reheat until piping hot.
• Freezer - The soup freezes well, although the sesame fragrance can fade a little - it's still totally delicious! Be sure to reheat until piping hot.

Ready to get cooking?

Thank you Taiwan for this healing, healthy, life-affirming dish. It feels like it's doing something special for you as it goes down. And like many Asian soups, it's born of a few, well-used ingredients. I love that the whole thing can be ready to eat within the hour. That's a game changer for me! Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe.

More Taiwanese & Chinese recipes

If you liked this recipe, I'm sure you'll love some more of my favourite Taiwanese and Chinese recipes.

• Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)
• Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice Bowl)
• Pork Rib Soup with Noodles
• Chinese Oxtail Soup

This recipe uses affiliations and may receive a commission based on your activity (link clicks). Learn more.