Cold Sichuan Chicken (Kou Shui Ji, 口水鸡) with Ginger Congee

Cold food on warm days can be a heavenly experience, but what if the cold food is spicy? The result is a food you can’t stop eating until the bowl is empty!

This cold Sichuan chicken dish (Kou Shui Ji, 口水鸡), translated as saliva chicken is one of the most popular dishes in Sichuan Chinese cuisine. It is a rough translation of mouth-watering as the spice and tingle from the Sichuan peppercorn that lends a unique vibrating sensation.

Traditional versions of this dish call for a whole chicken served chopped with skin and bones but we opted for bone-in and skin-on chicken breasts. The bones play an important part in flavoring the ginger-chicken stock, which will be important for both the savory sauce and the congee in this recipe. Just make sure you don’t overcook the chicken breasts! It’s all about timing.

The color of the chili oil corresponds with the Chinese New Year red. Our friends over at Lee Kum Kee sent us some incredible Chui Chow Chili Crisp Oil that we used to bring a huge punch of flavor to the chicken.

Place your chicken breasts into a large pot with aromatics like scallions, ginger, and Shaoxing rice wine. Add enough water to submerge the chicken, at least 2 quarts, and top with a lid. By slowly poaching the chicken, it becomes super tender without getting dried out. Plus, it creates that aromatic broth that we’re looking for!

While the chicken is cooking, it is a good time to toast up your nuts and spices, such as cashews, Sichuan peppercorns, or sesame seeds in a small skillet. This releases oils that activate a higher level of flavor and aroma! Just don’t burn it.

Once the chicken is cooked and starting to chill in an ice bath, it's congee time! Congee is a ubiquitous rice porridge with the simplest form being water and rice cooked in a 1:8 or 1:10 ratio. We now have a delicious ginger chicken broth that we will use as the backbone for our congee.

Place the rice and stock together, bring to a boil, and lower to a simmer until the rice expands and eventually absorbs most of the liquid. The starch in the rice will thicken it into an almost risotto-like texture but with its own unique bite.

Now there is some chilled poached chicken, how does one transform it into something truly mouth-watering? It’s all in the sauce! Get your knife ready because it starts out with minced ginger and garlic, followed by some reserved chicken broth, soy sauce, black rice vinegar (one of our favorite ingredients this summer), toasted sesame oil, sugar, salt, and the toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns.

Big aroma, savory, salty, sweet, acidic, and mouth-numbing with a great balance. Pour it over the sliced chicken breast– but there’s still more! Lee Kum Kee Chui Chow Chili Oil brings some richness, heat, and more garlic intensity.

Top it all off with some toasted sesame seeds, chopped cashews, and scallions. Serve with chilled congee and julienned cucumber for something refreshing and cool. Enjoy– but know some of the leftovers are the best part!

Cold Sichuan Chicken (Kou Shui Ji, 口水鸡) with Ginger Congee

This vibrant, savory, and spicy chicken dish is unique because for all of its heat, it is best served cold! There is no match for the addictive flavors of garlic, ginger Sichuan peppercorn, juicy poached chicken, and crunchy cashews on aromatic ginger congee. Mouth-watering good!

Recipe and Photography by Sam Burgess

Forge To Table

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken breast, bone-in, skin on

• 4 each scallions, sliced in half

• 4” knob of ginger, sliced into planks

• 4 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine

• 2 quarts water

• ½ cup raw cashews or peanuts

• 1 cup jasmine rice

• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced

• 4 tablespoons garlic, minced

• 1 cup fresh chicken stock (made with the ingredients from Group 1)

• ⅓ cup soy sauce

• ⅓ cup chinkiang black rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon freshly ground Sichuan peppercorn

• 1 cup homemade or store bought chili crisp oil, for garnish (we used Lee Kum Kee)

• ½ cup scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish

• 1 each cucumber, julienned, for serving

Directions:

1. POACH. Into a large stock pot, place bone-in chicken breasts, halved scallions, ginger slices, Shaoxing rice wine, and 2 quarts water. Add more as needed to immerse the chicken. Top pot with a lid, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer the chicken, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep the chicken in the covered pot for another 10 minutes.

2. TOAST NUTS. While the chicken is simmering, toast the cashews or peanuts in a cold pan over low heat, stirring often, until they become golden brown. Remove from the pan to let cool. In the same pan, toast the white sesame seeds until they release a nutty aroma and turn light brown. Remove from heat to cool. Chop the cooled nuts.

3. CHILL. Once the chicken has finished poaching, transfer into a bowl of ice water to chill and stop the cooking process. Remove the ginger slices and scallions out of the remaining chicken broth and set aside 1 cup of the broth.

4. CONGEE. In the remaining (~2 quarts) ginger chicken broth, stir in 1 cup of jasmine rice. Bring to a boil before lowering heat to a simmer. Simmer the rice for 25 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally, until it soaks up the liquid and thickens into congee. Simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes, if necessary. Remove from heat.

5. SAUCE. While congee is cooking, into a large bowl, combine minced ginger, minced garlic, 1 cup reserved chicken broth, soy sauce, black rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, salt, sugar, and ground Sichuan peppercorns. Set aside.

6. ASSEMBLE. Using your favorite Forge To Table knife, remove any bones from chilled chicken and slice into strips. Pour half of the sauce into a serving vessel. Lay the sliced chicken in and coat with the remaining sauce. Pour the chili oil over and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, chopped cashews, and scallions. Serve with congee and julienned cucumber. Enjoy!

Chef’s notes:

• If you can let the chicken marinate in the sauce for a few hours or overnight, the flavors soak into it and become more delicious!

• If you can’t find Shaoxing rice wine, substitute with sake.

• If you can’t find chinkiang black rice vinegar, substitute with balsamic vinegar. You might not need as much sugar if you add balsamic.

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