Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Cantonese Sand Ginger Chicken
沙薑雞
Recipe overview
A whole chicken is gently poached with ginger and spring onion, rested, chopped, then dressed with fragrant sand ginger oil.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 (about 1.2 kg) fresh whole chicken
- 30 g ginger
- 3 spring onions
Chicken poaching
- 2.5 litres water
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp salt
Aromatic finishing seasoning
- 2 tsp sand ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
02
Tools
- large lidded stockpot
- kitchen tongs
- chopping board
- cleaver
- small bowl
- small saucepan
- food thermometer
03
Steps
Step 1
Clean the chicken
Remove anything from the cavity, rinse and pat thoroughly dry; keep raw-chicken tools separate.
Step 2
Prepare ginger and onions
Smash the ginger, knot two spring onions and finely slice the remaining one.
Step 3
Make the poaching liquid
Add 2.5 litres water, ginger, onion knots, Shaoxing wine and 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot; cover and boil.
Step 4
Scald the cavity
Hold the chicken with tongs, lower it into boiling water and lift it out three times to heat the cavity.
Step 5
Begin poaching
Submerge the chicken, return to a gentle simmer, reduce to the lowest heat, cover and poach for 25 minutes.
Step 6
Turn the chicken
Carefully turn the chicken once halfway through so the breast and legs heat evenly.
Step 7
Check doneness
The thickest thigh must reach 74°C with clear juices; heat 5 minutes longer and recheck if needed.
Step 8
Drain and rest
Lift out the chicken, drain and rest on a clean board for 15 minutes.
Step 9
Mix sand ginger salt
Combine the sand ginger powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; add the sliced onion.
Step 10
Heat the oil
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan until just smoking, then remove from the heat.
Step 11
Make the aromatic oil
Carefully pour the hot oil over the sand ginger mixture, stir and stand for 2 minutes.
Step 12
Chop and serve
Chop the chicken on a clean cooked-food board, arrange on a plate and spoon over the sand ginger oil.
Common mistakes
- Using the same board for raw and cooked chicken.
- Boiling hard so the skin splits and meat dries.
- Judging only by juices without checking thigh temperature.
- Chopping immediately so the juices run out.
Tips
Use a pot large enough to submerge the chicken and keep only a gentle simmer. Check the thickest thigh with a thermometer and move cooked chicken only to a clean board.
