Guangzhou Wenchang Chicke
Tired of greasy dishes? Then make the refreshing Guangzhou Wenchang chicken. The white-cut method highlights the original flavor of chicken, which is light and delicious. The operation steps are simple and clear. You can make a healthy and delicious dish without too much grease.
Why do I like this recipe?
I like this recipe because its method is very special. Instead of directly boiling, it is soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes first. In this way, the chicken is cooked just right and is very tender. Chicken liver is also processed in this way, and the taste is correct.
Chicken, chicken liver and ham are put together. The taste of ham can make the whole dish more flavorful, and chicken liver also enriches the taste. Looking at the final sauce, there is chicken soup, cooking wine and sesame oil, with a mellow taste.
The presentation of the dish is also beautiful. It is arranged in a fish scale shape, and there are chicken wings and Choy Sum to match. It looks appetizing. Moreover, the nutrition is also balanced. It is healthy and delicious to eat, so I like this recipe.
Required ingredients and substitutes
Main ingredients
Chicken: tender meat, the main part of the dish, with a mellow taste.
Chicken liver: delicate taste, adding a unique flavor to the dish.
Ham: salty and fragrant, enriching the overall taste.
Choy Sum: refreshing and crispy, playing the role of meat and vegetable matching and balancing the taste.
Supplementary ingredients
Chicken soup: add freshness to the dish and make the taste more intense.
Seasonings
Cooking oil: hot pan cooking or used to make sauces, so that the ingredients can be better integrated.
Cooking wine: remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance, making the taste of the ingredients more pure and mellow.
Salt: adjust the saltiness of the dish and highlight the original flavor of the ingredients.
Sesame oil: add a unique fragrance to make the flavor of the dish more tempting.
Water starch: used for thickening, making the soup thicker and better for hanging sauce.
Substitutes
Chicken: three yellow chickens and other substitutes can be used, the meat characteristics are slightly different but equally delicious.
Chicken liver: duck liver can be replaced, the flavor is different but also unique.
Ham: bacon can be used as a substitute, with a strong smoky flavor and a different salty and fragrant taste.
Choy sum: Chinese cabbage can be used as a substitute, which is also refreshing and delicious and can serve as a match.
Cooking wine: Huadiao wine can be used as a substitute, with a more mellow wine aroma and a good effect in removing fishy smells.
Sesame oil: sesame oil can be used as a substitute, with a strong aroma and can achieve a similar effect.
Water starch: lotus root powder can be used as a substitute, with a fine texture and a different taste after thickening.
Why should the fire be turned off when soaking chicken?
Turning off the fire when soaking chicken is to keep the chicken tender.
The temperature of soaking with the fire off is between 80-90 degrees Celsius. This temperature can allow the chicken to cook slowly without being overcooked. If the fire is kept on for cooking, the chicken is easy to become tough and lose its due taste.
This method is very common in Cantonese cuisine. It can not only make the chicken taste better but also save gas and avoid making the soup turbid. In actual operation, you can gently poke the chicken with chopsticks. If the chopsticks can be inserted easily, it means the chicken is cooked.
What's the significance of arranging chicken in a fish scale shape?
Arranging in a fish scale shape is mainly to make the dish more beautiful and easier to absorb the flavor.
This arrangement allows each piece of chicken to evenly contact the sauce, making the taste more uniform when eating. At the same time, the arrangement in fish scale shape can allow the soup to flow along the lines and not accumulate in one place, making the taste of the whole dish better.
This arrangement is also convenient for diners to pick up. Each piece can be easily separated without spoiling the shape of the whole dish. In Cantonese restaurants, this way of arranging dishes is one of the basic skills that chefs must have.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
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·Half chicken
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·200g chicken liver
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·50g ham
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·150g Choy Sum
Accessories
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·300ml chicken soup
Seasonings
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·15ml cooking oil
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·10ml cooking wine
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·18g salt
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·A little sesame oil
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·An appropriate amount starch water
Table of Contents
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Remove the old and bad leaves of 150 grams of Choy Sum, and cut 50 grams of ham into slices.
Step 2
Boil water in a pot and then turn off the fire. Put half a chicken in, cover the pot, and soak for 20 minutes until just cooked. Take it out and disassemble it into pieces.
Step 3
Add half a small pot of clear water to the pot. After the water boils, put 15 grams of salt, turn off the fire, pour in 200 grams of chicken liver, and soak for 20 minutes until just cooked. Take it out and cut it diagonally into slices.
Step 4
Arrange the chicken in a plate. Place a slice of chicken liver and a slice of ham diagonally between each piece of chicken to pile up in a fish scale shape. Then place chicken wings on it. Put it in a steamer and steam it for 5 minutes through water and then take it out.
Step 5
Then blanch the Choy Sum for 1-2 minutes. Take it out and place it on both sides of the chicken.
Step 6
Pour 15 milliliters of oil into the pot, pour in 10 milliliters of cooking wine, add 300 milliliters of chicken soup and 3 grams of salt. After boiling, pour in an appropriate amount of starch water and stir until thick. Drop in a little sesame oil and stir evenly.
Step 7
Pour the prepared sauce on the chicken and chicken liver that have been arranged on a plate. This Guangzhou Wenchang chicken is completed.
More recipes worth trying
Savory Lemon-Infused Chinese Fried Chicken
Red Date Longan Sweet Soup With Egg
Recipe variations
Welcome to try more interesting variations of the following Guangzhou Wenchang chicken recipe:
Add mushrooms: Before soaking the chicken, stuff a few soaked mushrooms into the chicken's abdomen. The rich aroma of mushrooms will penetrate into the chicken, adding a unique flavor and making the chicken taste more mellow.
Add chestnuts: Place cooked chestnut kernels between the chicken pieces when arranging the dish. The sweet, soft and glutinous chestnuts paired with the tender chicken create a rich taste and can also add a hint of natural sweetness to this dish.
Replace the side dish with asparagus: Replace Choy Sum with asparagus. The tenderness and unique fragrance of asparagus can bring a fresh taste to the whole dish and set off the chicken and other ingredients. At the same time, asparagus is rich in various vitamins and minerals, enhancing the nutritional value of the dish.
Use coconut chicken soup base: When making the sauce, use coconut chicken soup instead of ordinary chicken soup. The sweetness of coconut chicken soup will give the sauce a rich coconut fragrance, making the whole Guangzhou Wenchang chicken filled with tropical style and having a unique taste.
Precautions
Ingredient preparation: Select fresh Wenchang chicken and carefully remove杂毛. Choose fresh and intact chicken livers. Cut ham into even thin slices. Remove old and bad leaves from Choy Sum and wash them to ensure the quality of ingredients.
Cooking process: For boiling chicken, first boil water and then turn off the fire to soak the chicken. The water temperature should not be too high. The soaking time should not exceed 20 minutes. The same operation is for chicken livers. Arrange the dish compactly and beautifully. Steam for 5 minutes on medium heat. Blanch Choy Sum for 1-2 minutes, quickly take it out and put it into cold water to cool down to keep it crisp and tender.
Sauce preparation: After heating the oil, add cooking wine first to remove the fishy smell. Pour in chicken soup and boil it. The amount of salt should be moderate. Add starch water slowly while stirring. Adjust it to a thick consistency that can hang on the sauce. Drop a few drops of sesame oil to enhance the fragrance.
Hygienic storage: Separate raw and cooked ingredients to avoid cross-contamination. Eat the prepared dish as soon as possible. For leftovers, seal and refrigerate. When eating again, heat it fully to prevent spoilage.
FAQs:
When choosing Choy Sum, pick those with green stems and moist leaves. Old stems and yellow leaves must be removed. If the stems are thick, cut them longitudinally to ensure even seasoning. After blanching, Choy Sum should be arranged on a plate immediately and not stacked to avoid the bottom layer being softened by being pressed out of water.
Finally, when pouring the soup, pay attention to controlling the amount. Too much soup will soak and soften Choy Sum. It is recommended to mainly pour the soup on the chicken. Only a little soup is needed to decorate Choy Sum. This way, it not only maintains the texture of Choy Sum but also does not affect the overall taste.
Although the traditional soaking method takes a long time, it can allow the chicken to be heated evenly and retain moisture, making the meat tender. Chicken livers are even more delicate. Using a pressure cooker is very easy to overcook and become old, losing the smooth and tender taste.
Second, it is the arrangement of the dish. To arrange the chicken, chicken livers and ham in a fish scale shape requires a certain amount of patience and skill. Beginners may not be able to arrange them neatly and beautifully enough. Moreover, during the process of arranging the dish, attention must be paid to keeping the ingredients intact.
Third, it is the preparation of the sauce. To prepare a sauce with the appropriate thickness and taste requires good control over the amount of seasonings such as salt and starch water. Beginners may encounter situations where the sauce is too thin to hang on, or too thick and become pasty, or the taste is too salty or too bland.
Pay attention to keeping moisture when heating. You can cover the plate with plastic wrap or a plate cover to prevent the chicken from becoming dry and woody. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add 1-2 spoons of hot water to adjust it. Add the Choy Sum in the last 30 seconds to heat it up, so that it can maintain a crisp taste.
Wenchang chicken should be eaten hot after heating, and it is not recommended to refrigerate it again.
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