Sichuan Poached Chicken is a dish of tender chicken poached with ginger, Shaoxing wine, and salt. It is served with a bold sauce of dark vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger, garnished with fresh scallions and Sichuan chili oil. This dish is best enjoyed with steaming hot rice.
This dish reminds me of Hainanese Chicken Rice or this Poached Chicken with Scallion Sauce, both of which are favorites in our house. I love making meals with a whole chicken because they are affordable and you get a whole pot of chicken stock out of poaching the chicken so they very economical.
You need some Sichuan chili flakes and also some ground Sichuan powder, both of which you can buy on amazon. I served this with hot white rice and a side of quick pickled cucumbers. One chicken made a meal for 4 of us when served with rice.
Sichuan Poached Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken neck and gizzards removed
- 4 inch piece of ginger washed and sliced
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine optional
- 1 tsp salt
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy vinegar
- 1 tbsp tahini or peanut butter
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 inch piece ginger peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorn powder more to taste
- 1/4 cup chicken broth from cooking the chicken
For the chili oil:
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup Sichuan chili flakes
To serve:
- hot white rice
- sliced scallions
Instructions
- To make the oil, heat the canola oil and chili flakes in a sauce pan over low heat until it starts to bubble a little. Turn off and let sit for 30 minutes, then strain out the chili flakes and keep the oil.
- Place the chicken in a stock pot along with the ginger, Shaoxing wine and salt and cover with water. Heat to a simmer, reduce as low as you can, and cook for 1-1.5 hours until the wings and legs pull apart easily when you grab them. Cool the chicken and remove the meat in large chunks and place on a platter.
- Strain the broth and use some for the sauce and freeze the rest for the next time you need chicken broth. Combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well.
- Pour sauce over the chicken then top with sliced scallions and drizzle over a few tbsp of chili oil. Serve with rice and the extra oil on the side as well as some extra ground Sichuan peppercorn powder.