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White cut chicken with ginger-scallion oil
Baak chit gai (白切雞): gently poached chicken with an ice-water chill and sizzling ginger-scallion oil
No Cantonese celebration in Hong Kong or Guangdong is complete without a plate of baak chit gai: at Lunar New Year, weddings and ancestor offerings, the whole chicken stands for family togetherness. It is the purest of the poached dishes, with pale, springy skin, a thin layer of jelly beneath it from the ice-water plunge, and smooth, juicy meat, all lifted by a dipping bowl of ginger and spring onion sizzled with hot oil and salt. Serve it at room temperature with rice cooked in the poaching stock. Old-style cooks leave it pink at the bone, but here the chicken is always cooked until the thickest part of the thigh reads 74 °C. The biggest error is boiling hard, which splits the skin; the water should only shiver. Chef's tip: grate the ginger finely and squeeze out a little of its juice, or the oil turns watery and bitter.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 ½ lb whole chickenat room temperature for 30 minutes
- 1 oz fresh gingersliced
- 3 spring onionsknotted
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 ¼ lb ice cubes
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
For the ginger-scallion oil
- 2 ⅛ oz fresh gingerpeeled and very finely grated
- 6 spring onionsvery finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Fill a pot large enough to submerge 3 ½ lb whole chicken with water, add 1 oz fresh ginger, 3 spring onions and 2 tbsp salt and bring to a full boil.
15 minStep 2: Holding the chicken by the wings, lower it into the water, lift it out to drain the cavity, and lower it again. Repeat 3 times, then let it sink fully, breast side down.
Step 3: Bring back to a bare simmer, then turn the heat to its lowest so the water just shivers. Poach for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Turn off the heat, cover tightly and leave the chicken in the hot water.
30 minStep 5: Test the thickest part of the thigh with a thermometer, not touching bone: it must reach 165°F and the juices must run clear. If not, warm the water to a bare simmer for 5 minutes, cover off the heat for 5 more, and test again.
5 minStep 6: Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and 2 ¼ lb ice cubes. Lift the cooked chicken straight into the ice bath and chill until cool to the touch, which tightens the skin and makes it springy.
10 minStep 7: For the oil, mix 2 ⅛ oz fresh ginger, 6 spring onions and 1 tsp salt in a heatproof bowl. Heat ½ cup vegetable oil in a small pan until it shimmers and a scrap of spring onion sizzles at once, then pour it over and stir. It will foam up.
Step 8: Drain the chicken, pat it dry and brush it all over with 1 tbsp sesame oil.
Step 9: Chop through the bone into pieces with a cleaver, arrange skin side up, and serve at room temperature with the ginger-scallion oil. Save the stock for rice or soup.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 45 g
- Carbs
- 2 g
- Fat
- 41 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does white cut chicken with ginger-scallion oil take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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