Bai Qie Ji (Cantonese White Cut Chicken)
It's the opposite of slaughtered chicken! Cantonese pride to taste the "pure flavor" of chicken with zero seasoning
Description
Japanese steamed chicken is drowned in heavy sauces. The pinnacle of Cantonese cuisine, 'Bai Qie Ji', uses absolutely ZERO seasoning. A whole chicken is poached at an exact temperature, shocked in ice water to turn the skin into bouncy jelly, and eaten dipped slightly in a 'Ginger Scallion Oil' (Jiang Cong Rong) to highlight the chicken's pure natural sweetness.
Restaurants serving Bai Qie Ji (Cantonese White Cut Chicken)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Premium whole chicken
- Scallion
- Ginger
- Peanut oil(or veg oil)
- Salt
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe & Differences]
- (Chicken) Because you can't hide behind sauce, you MUST use a premium, free-range whole chicken (like Sanhuang chicken).
- (The Art of Poaching) Boil a giant pot of water. Hold the chicken by the neck and dip it into the boiling water and lift it out
- times (San Jin San Ti) to ensure water fills the cavity evenly.
- Lower heat to the absolute minimum (80-90°C, NO boiling). Poach silently for
- mins. Turn off heat and steep for
- mins, using 'residual heat' to cook it perfectly to the bone without drying the breast.
- (Ice Shock) Plunge the piping hot chicken directly into a massive bath of 'Ice Water'. This Cantonese magic violently tightens the skin into a bouncy, 'jelly-like' texture.
- Chop bone-in with a cleaver. (The bone marrow being slightly red is the proof of absolute perfect cooking).
- (Dip) Serve with 'Jiang Cong Rong', a dip made by splashing smoking hot peanut oil over minced ginger, scallion, and salt.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Pure natural chicken umami、Ginger-scallion oil aroma
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese Salad Chicken (but skin texture and meat sweetness are totally diff)
Pairing
Jasmine Tea / Shaoxing Wine
Trivia
[Trivia] Cantonese people say, 'No chicken, no banquet'. For weddings or New Year's, a whole Bai Qie Ji is absolutely mandatory. It is the ultimate crystallization of the Cantonese philosophy: 'Maximize the natural flavor of the ingredient'.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Grab a bone-in piece and dip it just slightly into the 'Ginger Scallion Oil'. The 'snapping, bouncy' texture of the ice-shocked skin gives way to intensely juicy, pure meat umami. Sucking the marrow from the bones is the authentic way.
Allergen
Chicken