Chinese Cold Boiled Chicken
- Total Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6large bone-in chicken thighs
- Salt
- pepper
- 1two-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
- 4garlic cloves, sliced
- 3star anise
- 4scallions, 2 whole and 2 slivered
- 3tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1jalapeño, thinly sliced, optional
- 2tablespoons roasted sesame oil
- Lime wedges, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
487 calories; 37 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 33 grams protein; 523 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season the thighs generously with salt and pepper. Put them in a pot and barely cover with cold water. Add the ginger, garlic, star anise and the two whole scallions. Bring to a gentle boil and skim any rising foam. Turn the heat to very low, cover, and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour.
- Step 2
Transfer the thighs to a bowl to cool. Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Over high heat, reduce the liquid by half, about 10 minutes, then strain it over the thighs. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
- Step 3
To serve, arrange the chicken on a platter, leaving some of the jellied broth clinging to the thighs. (Alternatively, the skin may be removed and discarded, and the meat pulled from the bone and shredded.) Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with slivered scallions, cilantro and, if you like, jalapeño slices. Drizzle with sesame oil and surround with lime wedges.
Private Notes
Comments
This is like a recipe a native Hong Kongese taught me in the 70s. Main difference is cooking time, probably because of health concerns (bacterial growth): use whole chicken or pieces; bring to boil in water with similar flavorings (don't omit star anise!); simmer only a few min (~longer if pink at the end); then off heat and rest covered until at room temp; refrigerate. Succulent, juicy, flavorful. Dip in mixture to taste with: black vinegar/sugar/sesame oil/chopped cilantro, ginger, etc.
This is a great dish. A key part of serving it is a dipping sauce, though! Soy, scallions, sesame oil...
Just made this. I am not good at skimming fat from hot broth, so I poured broth into a fat separater jug and cooled it for two hours in fridge before pouring over chicken that was also cooling.
Oh and if you hav chicken skins, don’t toss them! Flatten them out on a parchment lined sheet pan, season with salt and pepper, top with another parchment and a second sheet pan to keep them flat. Bake at 300F for one hour (conveniently the same time that the chicken cooks) and revel in the incredibly crisp and crunchy chicken skin cracker that results. Cook’s treat, or share with people you REALLY love.
This has entered the supper canon for us, except we have it hot with the broth on the side, sort of in the style of Hainanese chicken rice.
This was delicious. I let it sit overnight and served it sliced on brown rice, with avocados, scallions, cilantro, wasabi, sesame oil, sliced cherry tomatoes, sliced seeded cucumbers. I used skinless boneless chicken thighs. The sauce wasn’t as gelatinous as I had hoped (the story of my life) and I may boil it down further tonight.