Ginger and spring onion steamed chicken (姜葱蒸鸡)
jiang cong zheng ji (姜葱蒸鸡)
Chicken steamed with ginger and finished with a sizzle of spring onion oil. Clean, gentle and warming, a lighter chicken dish for any week of the month.
For all the rich sesame oil and rice wine chicken of the later weeks, sometimes what the table wants is something clean and light. Steamed chicken with ginger, finished with a sizzle of spring onion oil, is that dish, and it suits any week of the month.
Why this dish
It carries the warmth the tradition wants, from ginger steamed under the chicken and more ginger in the finishing oil, but none of the heaviness of a long braise. That makes it one of the more flexible chicken dishes, as at home in the first weeks as the last.
The finishing oil
The steaming gives you tender chicken; the oil gives you the flavour. Heat it until it is just smoking and pour it over the raw ginger and spring onion so they crackle. That single step is the difference between plain and fragrant.
For the reasoning behind warm food in the month, see should I avoid cold food and cold drinks.
The recipe
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 3 as part of a meal
Why this ingredient
Old ginger (老姜)
This dish is a good example of how ginger does double duty in confinement cooking. Sliced ginger steams under the chicken to warm and perfume it from below, while raw matchsticks are woken up by hot oil at the end for a fresher, sharper hit. The tradition wants that warmth in almost everything, and here it also keeps a plain steamed chicken from tasting flat.
Why this ingredient
Spring onion (葱)
Spring onion is a mild warming aromatic that the tradition often pairs with ginger. Its main job here is the finishing oil: shredded greens crackle when hot oil hits them, releasing a fragrance that lifts the whole plate. It is a small step that turns a simple steamed chicken into something worth the table.
Ingredients
- 600 g chicken pieces on the bone, chopped Thigh and drumstick stay juicy under steam; bone-in gives more flavour.
- 30 g ginger, half sliced and half cut into fine matchsticks Slices go under the chicken to steam; matchsticks go into the finishing oil.
- 3 spring onions, whites and greens separated and shredded The greens go into the sizzling oil at the end for fragrance.
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine and 1 teaspoon salt Rubbed into the chicken before steaming to season it through.
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil and 1 teaspoon sesame oil Heated until smoking and poured over the aromatics at the end.
- 1 tablespoon light soy, to finish Spooned over the steamed chicken before the hot oil.
Method
- 1 Rub the chicken with the rice wine and salt and leave for 10 minutes.
- 2 Lay the ginger slices and spring onion whites over a heatproof plate and arrange the chicken on top in a single layer.
- 3 Steam over rapidly boiling water for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
- 4 Pour off any excess liquid, scatter the ginger matchsticks and shredded spring onion greens over the chicken, and spoon over the light soy.
- 5 Heat the neutral and sesame oils in a small pan until just smoking, then pour it over the aromatics so they sizzle. Serve at once.
Notes and substitutions
- A whole chicken can be steamed this way too; increase the time to around 40 minutes depending on size.
- Save the flavourful steaming juices and spoon them over rice.
- Get the oil properly hot: it needs to sizzle the aromatics to release their fragrance, which is the point of the finish.
Before you cook this
- A gentle dish with no special cautions. Use water in place of the rice wine if you would rather avoid alcohol, though most cooks off in steaming.
Common questions
Is this suitable for the early weeks?
Yes. Unlike the rich sesame oil and rice wine chicken dishes that are usually held back to the later weeks, this is a light, clean steamed dish, gently warmed with ginger, which makes it suitable across the whole month.
Can I use chicken breast?
You can, but steam it for less time, around 12 to 15 minutes, or it will dry out. Bone-in thigh and drumstick are more forgiving and stay juicier under steam.
Why pour hot oil over at the end?
The hot oil blooms the raw ginger and spring onion, releasing a fresh, sharp fragrance that steaming alone cannot. It is the step that makes this dish, so heat the oil until it is just smoking.