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Kǒushuǐ jī, mouth-watering chicken
Kǒushuǐ jī means mouth-watering chicken: gently poached chicken, cooled and sliced, then dressed in a red chilli oil sauce that is numbing, hot, sweet and sour all at once. It is a cold starter in Chengdu, made to wake up the table before the hot dishes arrive.
- 45 minutes
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 25 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 500g boneless chicken thighs, skin on (about 5 thighs)
- 3 spring onions
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger (about 30g), sliced
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine for cooking)
- 4 tablespoons Sichuan chilli oil with its sediment (hóngyóu, red oil: oil infused with chilli flakes)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinkiang black vinegar (zhènjiāng cù, a dark, mellow Chinese vinegar)
- 2 teaspoons caster sugar
- 1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (huājiāo, a pink peppercorn that makes the lips tingle), toasted
- 1 tablespoon Chinese sesame paste (zhīma jiàng) or tahini
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- A small handful of coriander leaves
Let's cook
- Put the chicken in a pan just big enough to hold it. Add 2 of the spring onions, cut in half, the ginger and the Shaoxing wine, then pour in cold water to cover by 2cm.
- Bring slowly to a simmer on a medium heat, skimming off any grey foam. Turn the heat to its lowest so the water barely trembles and cook for 12 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, cover and leave the chicken in the hot water for 10 minutes more. It is cooked when the thickest piece reads 75C on a thermometer, or when you cut into it and the juices run clear with no pink.
- Lift the chicken into a bowl of iced water and leave it for 5 minutes. This firms the skin and keeps the meat juicy. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Keep 3 tablespoons of the poaching liquid.
- Make the dressing. Loosen the sesame paste with the 3 tablespoons of poaching liquid until it is smooth, then stir in the chilli oil and its sediment, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, Sichuan pepper and sesame oil. Taste: it should be hot, numbing, salty and gently sweet.
- Slice the chicken across the grain into strips about 1cm thick and lay them, skin side up, on a shallow plate.
- Spoon the dressing over just before serving so the chicken sits in a pool of red oil. Scatter with the peanuts, sesame seeds, the last spring onion, thinly sliced, and the coriander.
Tips
- Toast whole Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan for a minute until fragrant, then grind them. Bought ground pepper loses its tingle fast.
- Keep the cooked, undressed chicken covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Serve it cold, never left out for more than 2 hours.
- Shop chilli oils vary a lot in heat. Start with 3 tablespoons and add more to taste.
Swaps
- Cheaper: use skinless thighs and poach for 2 minutes less.
- No peanuts: leave them out and add extra sesame seeds for crunch.
Tags
Contains: Cereals containing gluten, Soya, Sesame, Peanuts, Sulphur dioxide and sulphites .
Gluten is in the Shaoxing wine, the light soy sauce (made with wheat) and the Chinkiang vinegar (most are brewed with wheat bran). Soya is in the soy sauce. Sesame is in the sesame paste, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Peanuts are the roasted peanuts. Sulphites are in the Shaoxing wine. Shop chilli oils can also contain soya, sesame or peanuts, so check the jar.
Check every packet for allergens.