Cantonese Recipe

White-Cut Chicken

Cantonese · Serves 4 · 1 hour plus cooling

White-cut chicken is a Cantonese poached chicken dish served with ginger-scallion sauce. It is a test of timing, texture, and restraint.

Why this dish works

This dish teaches that Cantonese clarity is not blandness. The chicken should be tender, the skin should be pleasing, and the ginger-scallion sauce should be fragrant.

Recipe at a glance

Item Detail
Serves 4
Time 1 hour plus cooling
Core technique Gentle poaching
Heat level Mild
Best with Rice and garlic greens

Ingredients

  • 1 small whole chicken or 4 chicken legs
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 3 scallions
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
  • Salt
  • Ginger-scallion sauce: 3 tablespoons minced ginger, 3 scallions minced, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup hot neutral oil
  • Optional: light soy sauce for serving

Method

  1. Bring a pot of water to a simmer with ginger, scallions, Shaoxing wine, and salt.
  2. Add chicken and keep at a gentle simmer until cooked through.
  3. Turn off heat and let chicken rest in the hot liquid for 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer to an ice bath or cool at room temperature depending on preference.
  5. Mix ginger, scallions, and salt. Pour hot oil over them to make sauce.
  6. Chop chicken and serve with ginger-scallion sauce.
  7. Save the poaching liquid as a light broth.

Menu-literacy notes

  • 白切鸡 / white-cut chicken: a Cantonese benchmark of texture and freshness.
  • Ginger-scallion: a major Cantonese flavor pair.
  • Gentle heat: boiling hard toughens the chicken.
  • Poaching liquid: can become soup or rice-cooking liquid.

Variations and substitutions

  • Use chicken thighs for easier cooking.
  • Rub the chicken with sesame oil after cooling.
  • Serve with chile oil for a nontraditional spicy version.
  • Use the poaching broth for congee.

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