Hand shredded chicken 手撕雞 (shǒu sī jī) is an all-time favorite appetizer for lots of people. There are many variations such as adding sesame paste, flat glass noodles 粉皮 (fén pí), spicy, etc. But the shredded chicken salad 味菜手撕雞 is my absolute favorite. It has sweet pickled vegetables, chicken, jelly fish and crispy spring roll wrappers. I knew I had to try to make it myself since it's soooo good!
There’s not a lot of history that I can find with this dish because I’ve only had it at a restaurant in Vancouver. I suspect that this dish originated from a Hakka recipe since the Hakka salt baked, hand shredded chicken is a very popular Chinese dish. Hakka people are also well known for their pickled vegetables. Then, the restaurant probably added the spring roll wrappers themselves… which is brilliant!
I had tried to make this dish many times, and I just could not get the pickled vegetables right. The pickled vegetables available in store are just too salty. Then my mom started to pickle some mustard greens herself and told me that I should use hers. I was skeptical at first but it was the right flavor! So, to make it like the restaurant, you’ll need to pickle your own mustard greens. It’s actually quite easy. But if you’re not into doing that, you can also substitute it for the sweet pickle radish and carrots that you can find in the deli section of Asian grocery stores. I find that the taste is similar and it adds a crunchy texture too.
You really have to try to make this shredded chicken salad 味菜手撕雞. It’s so good! And it’s not hard to make. My recipe will also show you how to make sweet pickled mustard greens. This is a must try…your family will thank you!
Need more dinner ideas? Try my Steamed Egg with Pork 滑蛋蒸豬肉 or Hash Brown Pork Patties 香煎豬肉薯餅 recipes.
Shredded Chicken Salad 味菜手撕雞
Ingredients
- 800 g Chicken legs , bone-in (2-4 chicken legs)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp Sand ginger powder (or use salt-baked chicken powder)
- 300 g Jellyfish
- 200 g Sweet pickled mustard greens (see notes below for receipe)
- 100 g Sweet pickled white radish and carrots
- 1 stalk Green onions , thin sliced strips
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce
- ½ tsp Chicken broth mix powder (can be substituted with ½ tsp salt)
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Simple syrup (1 tbsp sugar melted into 1 tbsp boiling water)
- 100 g Frozen spring roll wrapper
- 300 ml Oil for deep-frying
Instructions
- Rub the chicken with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp Shaoxing wine and 1 tsp sand ginger powder
- Place chicken (bone-in) onto a plate for steaming and steam at medium heat (190˚C or 200˚F) for 30 minutes or until cooked
Steam for 45 minutes for a whole chicken. Be sure the chicken is at room temperature before steaming - Soak green onions in water to make them curly and less pungent (optional step)
- Cut up 100g of spring roll wrappers to 1cm x 4cm strips and separate them individually
Feel free to add more if you want more crunch - Pour 300ml of oil into a small pot for deep-frying
- Use a piece of the spring roll wrapper to test the oil
- Once the oil is ready, put the cut spring roll wrappers into the oil. Fry until golden colour which should take approx. 10 seconds for each batch. Set aside
- Slice the pickled vegetables into shreds and set aside
- Wash jelly fish with water and dry in colander
- Once the chicken is cooked, let it cool
- Shred the chicken by hand into small strips
- Combine chicken, jelly fish, preserved vegetable and mix well
- Add 1 tsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp chicken broth mix powder, 1 tbsp simple syrup and mix well
- Taste test. Add more soy sauce, chicken broth powder and simple syrup if necessary
- Add sesame oil and toss to mix
- Put chicken on serving dish and put the deep-fried spring roll wrappers around it
- Top with green onions and sprinkle sesame seeds on top
Notes
- Use a cloth to wipe clean the mustard greens. If you would like to wash the mustard greens with water, you will need to dry the mustard greens before going on to step 2
- Boil water in a large pot
- When the water is boiling, place the vegetable in the pot one head at a time, putting the head first and then leaves. Remove after 4-5 seconds or when the vegetable changes to a bright green colour. Continue until all vegetables have been processed. Water must be at a rolling boil when you put the vegetables in
- Boil 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup vinegar in a pot until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and let cool
- Prepare a glass jar or non-plastic, non-metal container with a lid and also something to weigh down on the vegetables to prevent the vegetables from floating to the top. You can try using a small plate or bowl
- Place the vegetables into the jar and pour the vinegar mixture into the jar. Place the weight on top of the vegetables and close the jar. The vegetables must be completely submersed in the vinegar mixture. Make more of the mixture if it wasn’t enough to cover the vegetables completely.
- Place the jar at room temperature away from direct sunlight
- Vegetables should be ready to eat in 4-5 days when the colour changes to a dark green Add a tsp of turmeric to the vinegar mixture if you’d like the vegetables to have a yellow tone to them
- Once the pickled vegetables are ready, wash them and they are ready to eat
- You should be able to keep them in the fridge for 2 weeks. They will start losing some of their crunch after a week
- To have it last longer, you can cut them up and fry them in a bit of oil and keep them in a jar they should be able to last for around 3 months
Auntie Emily made this delicious dish for a family event I had and everyone gobbled it up! It is hard to find this dish in restaurants so what a treat to finally be able to make it home with your recipe!! Thank you, Auntie Emily!!
Omg! This is my favorite! Have had this dish at many different restaurants and this recipe is exactly like my favorite one! It's so good and not hard to make at all!
This recipe took me a few tries to figure out, but I’m pretty proud of this one! It’s one of my favorites too. Tammy, you have great taste!
Hi, which brand chicken broth do you use as well as jellyfish?
Hi Ang, I use Knorr brand for the chicken broth powder and Watson instant jellyfish. Happy cooking!