Cantonese White Cut Chicken with Ginger-Scallion Sauce

White cut chicken is a Cantonese classic. To make it, you poach a whole bird in a broth fragrant with star anise, fennel seed, and cloves, then serve it chilled, accompanied by a bright scallion-ginger sauce. In our house, we always called it saltwater chicken, since Grandma added much more than a pinch, which she said helped tenderize the meat.

Save the cooking liquid for another use—I like to boil it with carrots, celery, onion, and parsley to make a flavorful broth. Any leftover chicken is wonderful over rice, in salads, or turned into tacos or chicken salad.


Welcome to Grandma’s Notebook, a series unearthing the hand-written recipes of Mary Woo, the late grandmother of fashion designer Peter Som. Follow along as we dive into 20 years of recipes that trace her Chinese American immigrant experience. Along the way, we’ll discover hidden family secrets, new and enticing flavors, and priceless hand-me-down dishes that deserve a second life in your kitchen.

It all started with a small, spiral-bound notebook—crinkled, smudged, and dog-eared, its ruled pages fading to ecru at the edges. On those mothball-scented pages? Twenty years of recipes, each one dated, starting in 1960 and ending in 1980. Soy sauce duck, tofu fa, enchiladas, oxtail stew. A life’s worth of recipes, meticulously hand written in Chinese or English—or a little of both.

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cantonese white cut chicken with ginger-scallion sauce peter som

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken
2 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp kosher salt
1½ tsp sugar
5 whole cloves
2 star anise pods
1 chicken (4 lb.), cut into 8 pieces, breasts left bone-in

For the sauce
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp thinly sliced fresh red chile (optional)
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

METHOD

Make the chicken: To a large pot set over high heat, add 8 cups of water, the fennel seeds, salt, sugar, cloves, and anise and bring to a boil. Add the chicken (covering with more water if needed to fully submerge the pieces) and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a strong simmer and cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165ºF and the chicken is fully cooked, 10–12 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to the ice water (discarding the aromatics) and set aside until cool, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, ginger, salt, sesame oil, chile, and scallions.

To serve, cut the chicken breasts off the bone and into 1-inch slices. Transfer to a platter along with the remaining chicken pieces. Sprinkle with scallions and accompany with the sauce. (Saltwater chicken may be served cold or at room temperature.)

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