Grace Young is a culinary sister to novelist Amy Tan. In The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, along with sharing recipes from her family, Young immerses the reader in Chinese culture and the Chinese American experience of San Francisco's Chinatown, where she grew up. This personal book began with Young's wish to preserve the Cantonese dishes prepared by her parents and extended family.
Perfecting the cooking of White Cut Chicken is as important to the Cantonese home cook as learning to make rice. It is a classic dish for New Year's and for everyday fare at home. Every year for the Ching Ming Festival, Chinese families visit their family graves to pay their respects to their ancestors and to bring a place of White Cut Chicken, roast pork, three bowls of rice, and three glasses of liquor as an offering. It is considered a pleasing dish for both heaven and earth.
My friend David Camacho, who has lived in Hong Kong for over ten years, gave me this outstanding recipe. Every Cantonese cook has a slightly different technique of poaching chicken, but most modern recipes include shocking the cooked chicken with ice water to prevent overcooking. The chicken should be juicy, flavorful, and never dry; it's best to use a broiler/fryer chicken. This recipe may seem simple and plain, but it takes skill to master this unique cooking method. A classic presentation is to serve the chicken with thinly sliced Smithfield ham on a bed of blanched Chinese broccoli.
Serve 4 to 6 as part of a multicourse meal.
One 4-pound broiler-fryer chicken
5 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, about 1 ounce
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 quarts ice water
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons finely shredded green scallions
3 tablespoons finely shredded ginger
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Remove any fat pockets from the chicken. Rub chicken with about 2 teaspoons of salt. Rinse the chicken under cold water and place on a rack to drain.
In a pot large enough to fit the chicken, bring about 3 quarts cold water, ginger, garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil over high heat, covered. Carefully add the chicken, breast-side up, adding more boiling water if necessary to completely cover the chicken. Return to a rolling boil and boil vigorously over high heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the surface. Cover pot and let sit off heat for 20 minutes.
Uncover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. When the broth returns to a rolling boil, boil vigorously, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Using two heavy spoons, carefully transfer the hot chicken to a colander in the sink. (The chicken should register 170 degrees when tested with a meat thermometer at the meatiest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone. If not, return to the pot and simmer several more minutes.) Slowly pour ice water over the chicken in the colander. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Rub the warm chicken with the sesame oil. Allow chicken to cool slightly before using a meat cleaver to chop through the bone into bite-sized pieces, reserving any chicken juices (or disjoint into serving pieces). (Reserve the chicken broth for making soups.)
Place the scallions, ginger, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a small heatproof dish. In a small skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Carefully pour hot oil over scallions and ginger. The oil will make a crackling sound as it hits the scallions and ginger. Serve chicken warm or at room temperature with scallion-ginger sauce.
