Last Updated on 17 December 2023 by cooksimply
If you love chicken, then you have to try this poached Chinese chicken recipe. Tender pieces of chicken that are served with a really tasty ginger, spring onion and soy sauce, and it’s always been one of my family’s favourite dishes. Why? It’s really easy to make – and healthy, delicious, and a great dish to share.
What is white cut chicken?
White cut chicken [bak chit gai] is traditionally a celebration dish that is enjoyed on special occasions such as Lunar New Year or birthdays. My parents like to prepare this poached Chinese chicken recipe when the whole family got together as part of several other homemade Chinese dishes. A whole chicken including its skin is poached with a variety of aromatics and then cooled immediately in an ice bath so that the skin is still intact and the meat is extremely moist and tender. The chicken is chopped into pieces, with the bone in, and served with a really tasty spring onion and ginger sauce. You can dip the chicken into the sauce or even drizzle it all over the chicken.
What ingredients are needed?
Relatively few… which is why you don’t have to wait until a celebration to make this Chinese poached chicken. You can make this at any time of the week.
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Whole chicken – get the best you can afford ideally free-range
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fresh ginger
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spring onions
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Chinese cooking wine
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salt
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vegetable oil
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light soy sauce
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sesame oil
How to make Chinese poached chicken?
Poaching the chicken is the hardest part of this recipe. Get a large pot of salted boiling water, and add three slices of peeled ginger, 2 chopped spring onions, and a tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine. Once the water is boiling, add the whole chicken and submerge it fully in the water. The water will cool, so you have to wait until the water begins boiling again, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on a low to medium heat for 40-45 minutes. This should be sufficient time for a large chicken weighing approximately 1.6kg-1.9kg.
You can check the chicken is thoroughly cooked by using a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and it reads 82°c. If you see any red still running out of the chicken it’s definitely not done – continue to cook for 5-10 more minutes.
When you’re just about to remove the chicken from the pot, prepare an ice bath. Fill a large bowl with cold water and plenty of ice. Carefully remove the chicken using tongs or a meat fork and immediately place it in the ice bowl and leave for 5-10 minutes.
Don’t get rid of the poaching water, as this can be used as stock for another dish – you can add it to a suitable container and keep it in the fridge for several days or even freeze it for later use. Perfect for making chicken noodle soup or in curries.
Why do you have to put the chicken in an ice bath?
It stops the cooking process of the chicken, so the meat remains tender, the skin doesn’t break away from the meat, and the juices remain inside the meat. Once cooled, remove the chicken ready to be carved.
How best to carve the chicken?
I used to watch my parents chop a chicken many times. The first thing is you do need a very large sharp knife or meat cleaver – which is what I use, then a really good chopping board on a stable work surface. There are many ways to chop a whole chicken, however, the key here is to get as much of the chicken here as possible.
- Carefully cut the chicken in half
- Trim the neck, backbone, and tail pieces
- Separate the thighs and drumsticks and then you can chop these into smaller pieces
- Then do the same with the wings
- Then remove the breast and slice through lengthways so you have several pieces
How to make the spring onion and ginger sauce
Get a large frying pan, then heat the vegetable oil until it’s very hot, carefully add the ginger and stir fry, then the spring onions before adding the soy sauce and sesame oil and stir well.
Can you make other dipping sauces?
Poached chicken recipes would be rather dull without any accompaniments. You can make the sauce with different variations including adding garlic to the ginger. Or not adding the spring onions and just having ginger and soy. For a kick, add some chilli oil, or fresh chillies. You could even have spring onions, chilli and garlic.
What if I don’t want to eat the chicken cold?
White cut chicken is meant to be eaten cold – the meat has been cooled so that it still remains tender and really moist. However, I understand that some may prefer to eat it warm. If that’s the case I wouldn’t recommend reheating the chicken in the oven it will change the texture of the meat. You could either warm through by streaming for 10 mins or so or covering and heating in the microwave on a medium heat for around 3-4 minutes.
What to serve with Chinese poached chicken
If you’re going to make this white cut chicken then it’s wonderful served with plain boiled rice, or egg fried rice, with ginger sauce, drizzled all over, and some chilli oil too, alongside some pak choi or green vegetables. If you’re making this as part of a celebration meal then these dishes would work well alongside this poached chicken.
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Chicken potstickers
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Braised aubergine
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Singapore noodles
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Sesame prawn toast
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Crispy chilli beef
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Braised pork belly
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Turnip cake
Chinese poached chicken [white cut chicken]
Ingredients
The poached chicken
- 1 whole chicken
- 3 slices of peeled fresh ginger
- 2 spring onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Ginger and spring onion sauce
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- A large chunk of fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped around 4cms
- 4 spring onions finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
Instructions
- Get a large pot of salted boiling water and add the Chinese wine, pieces of ginger and spring onions. Add the whole chicken, and bring it to a boil. Then turn down the heat. Simmer with a lid on for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Get a water ice bowl ready and carefully add the cooked chicken into the iced water and leave for 5-10 minutes so it cools. Once cooled remove from the ice bath and then you can prepare to cut into pieces.
- While the chicken is poaching you can get ahead and make the spring onion and ginger sauce. In a frying pan, add the oil, and heat to very hot. Then add the ginger, and stir fry for around 30 seconds, then add the spring onions, continue to stir fry, and then add the soy sauce and sesame oil, and stir through. Add to a bowl and give a good stir, ready for the white cut chicken.
- Cut the chicken into pieces with the bone in, and serve with lots of ginger sauce, rice, and extra chilli oil.
Video
Nutrition
Did you make this poached Chinese chicken recipe?
Please let me know how this white cut chicken turned out for you. Leave a comment below and tag @cooksimplyathome on Instagram. For other simple and delicious meals take a look at my other recipes.