Cantonese Steeped Chicken Recipes

CANTONESE CHICKEN WITH PICKLED MUSTARD GREENS

Steps:

• Place the chicken chunks into a bowl with the water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, vegetable oil, and white pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined and set aside for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, mix the cornstarch into the marinated chicken, massaging everything together until the chicken has absorbed any standing liquid.
• Meanwhile, mix the sauce by combining the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. Set aside.
• Place a clean, dry wok over medium high heat, and add 2 tablespoons of oil and the smashed ginger. After 15 seconds, add the pickled mustard greens, and stir-fry for 1 minute, until the greens are seared and slightly dry.
• Next, add the smashed garlic, white parts of the scallions, and dried red peppers (if using). Stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Searing the aromatics and the mustard greens like this really brings out their flavors.
• Move the mustard greens to the sides of the wok, and turn the heat up to the highest setting. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the open middle area of the wok, and add the chicken in 1 layer. Let the chicken fry for 1 minute on each side, or until lightly browned. Move the mustard greens and aromatics around with the chicken so they don't burn.
• Add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok and stir everything together for 10 seconds.
• Add prepared sauce mixture to deglaze the wok, mixing everything together until combined. Then push all of the ingredients to the middle of the wok. Turn the heat down so the liquid is at a slow simmer.
• Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has nearly completely reduced. If it looks too dry, add a little more stock. If it's still too wet, simmer a bit longer with the cover off until it has reduced to your liking.
• Turn the heat back up to medium high heat and add the green parts of the scallions. Add enough of the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce (you don't have to use it all) and stir together for 20-30 seconds. Plate and serve with steamed rice.

CANTONESE POACHED CHICKEN (BAI QIE JI)

Steps:

• Make sure your chicken is at room temperature (trying to poach a cold chicken right out of the refrigerator will result in uneven cooking or undercooking). Clean the chicken by rinsing it under cold water, paying special attention to the cavity. Any giblets should already be removed but there may still be organs on the inside that should be removed or sometimes stray feathers that need to be plucked. Experts recommend that it's not necessary to wash your chicken before cutting and cooking but in this case for a whole chicken (especially if you get it from a live poultry place or even from Asian markets), it's a step that shouldn't be skipped, in my opinion. When washing and prepping the whole chicken, be very careful about splashing water and contaminating surfaces with unwanted bacteria. Be careful not to break or trim away any of the skin on the chicken, as you don't want the meat exposed to the boiling water as it cooks. This will ensure a moist, silky texture in the final product.
• Fill a large stock pot with water, just enough to submerge the chicken completely. You can determine this by putting the entire chicken in the pot, filling it with water until the chicken is submerged, and then removing the chicken. Do not turn on the heat while the chicken is still in the pot! This method of ensuring you have just enough water to submerge the chicken (and avoiding any extra) will ensure you have a more flavorful stock to save at the end. We used about 18 cups of water to submerge a 4 pound chicken in a deep stock pot.
• Once you have your water properly measured into the pot, add 2 scallions and 5 slices of ginger, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, slowly lower the chicken into the pot, legs down and head up. It's ok if the breast is peeking out of the water a bit. The water will cool down and stop boiling when you add the chicken, so bring it up to a boil once again, and do not walk away from the pot.
• Once the water boils again, IMMEDIATELY lift the chicken out of the water very carefully. You can carefully hook two wooden spoons under the wings to lift the chicken up. The goal is to empty any colder water that may be trapped inside the cavity. Once you've released that water, lower the chicken back into the pot, and bring to a boil again.
• When the water is JUST starting to boil, turn the heat down. Keep it at barely a simmer. There should be very little movement in the water, but it also shouldn't be still. Cover the pot, and keep the heat around the lowest setting so the liquid continues to simmer slowly. Cook for about 35-40 minutes, roughly 10-11 minutes per pound. Depending on the size of your chicken, it may take more or less time to cook it through. You can check to make sure the water is bubbling slowly/gently and not boiling too vigorously, but try to avoid uncovering the pot while it's cooking.
• Poke a chopstick or skewer into the thigh to check for doneness. If the juices run clear, it's done. Carefully lift the chicken out of the pot and transfer it to a large bowl of ice water. Cool completely.
• While the chicken is cooling, make the sauce. You have the option to make two versions-one with just scallions, ginger, oil and salt, and one with soy sauce. The plain version is more traditional, as it really lets the flavors of chicken, ginger, and scallion shine through. Judy loves to add soy sauce, and it's also a tasty option! Start with the plain version, and then scoop some of it out into another bowl and add soy sauce. Try both and see which your loved ones like best!
• When the chicken is out of the ice water, you can brush it lightly with oil or some of the fat floating atop the poaching liquid to give it that enticing, shiny look!
• To serve, carve your chicken into pieces that you can easily grab with chopsticks. Serve with your sauce(s) and some steamed rice.

CANTONESE STEEPED CHICKEN

Steps:

• If the chicken is tied, undo it, then rub it evenly with the salt. Place in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. (If your pan is not large enough cut the chicken into quarters.) Add the ginger and whole spring onions. Reduce the heat and simmer continuously for 30 minutes, skimming all the while. Cover tightly, turn off the heat and leave for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. Combine the spring onions, ginger and salt in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the oil until very hot and pour over the spring onion mixture. Allow to cool. This sauce can also be made hours in advance or even the day before.
• When the chicken is ready, remove it from the broth and discard the ginger and spring onions. At this point you can leave the chicken in the broth and chill up to a day ahead. Remove the chicken meat from the carcass. Remove and discard the chicken skin. Using a fork pull the meat into finger-sized shreds. Place on a platter, sprinkle with the shredded spring onions and serve with the dipping sauce.

CANTONESE CHICKEN CHOW MEIN

Steps:

• Whisk water, 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, and black pepper together in a bowl until marinade is smooth. Add chicken and marinate, about 15 minutes.
• Stir chicken broth, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, and sugar together in a bowl until seasoning mixture is well combined.
• Heat 3 tablespoons canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir noodles until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer noodles to a platter.
• Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon into skillet with the oil; cook and stir chicken over high heat until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Add seasoning mixture, celery, carrot, bean sprouts, onion, and green onion; cook and stir until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Pour chicken mixture over noodles.