Easy Steamed Salted Whole Chicken 簡易蒸鹽焗雞 is a simple way to make a delicious, moist and presentable chicken for any occasion. Just to clarify …a “whole” chicken means one with a head, tail and feet. Having a whole chicken during festive occasions means that everything that began will come to a nice end.
Cantonese people love chicken! There’s a Cantonese saying, “if there’s no chicken, then it can’t be a banquet 無雞不成宴” (wújī bū chéng yàn). So don’t think a lobster can take the place of a chicken at a dinner banquet! If you look at the set banquet menus at Cantonese restaurants, you usually can’t find one without a chicken.
Growing up, my mom made poached chicken with ginger and green onion oil for every special occasion, which is around four times a year. But the chicken was bland and as a kid, I hated ginger and green onions. So, I cringed every time I had to eat tasteless overcooked chicken. I love green onions now but I’m still not a fan of ginger. I always make my chicken dipping sauce with lots of green onions and no ginger! Instead of poaching the chicken, I find steaming it much more flavorful and easy.
Don’t get me wrong, I like poached chicken too, but it’s not easy making it well. It includes having to put the chicken in boiling water and then putting it in an ice bath three or four times. And then you need to season it. Steaming is much easier and less likely to overcook it.
My Easy Steamed Salted Whole Chicken 簡易蒸鹽焗雞 is a basic recipe that can work well with any add-ons. It’s flavourful enough to stand on its own. You can chop it up into pieces with or without the bones. Or tear the meat off and make hand shredded chicken. You can even make an “almost” Ginger and Scallion Chicken 薑蔥油林雞 (jiāng cōng yóu lín jī) by making a sauce from the steaming juice of the chicken, add some shredded green onions, ginger and/or chilis and pour it back onto the chicken after you chop it up.
The preparation time for this chicken is about 10 minutes and the rest of the time is used letting it air-dry and waiting for it to steam. So it’s a good dish to make when you’ve got other things to do around the house. Just set your timer.
If you have leftovers, you can braise it with some shanghai noodles, bok choy and chicken broth for something similar to Shanghai braised chicken noodles 嫩雞煨麵 (nèn jī wēi miàn). But whenever I make this chicken, it is seldom that I get leftovers!
Need another auspicious dish for a special occasion? Try my Chinese Steamed Fish 清蒸魚.
To read more about about culinary traditions, I found an informative page here.
I mentioned a meat thermometer in my recipe below. In case you were interested, this is the one that I use:
ThermoPro TP03 Digital Instant Read Meat Thermometer Kitchen Cooking Food Candy Thermometer with Backlight and Magnet for Oil Deep Fry BBQ Grill Smoker Thermometer
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
P.S. I also need to clarify that my mom made other things well, just not poached chicken! One of my favorite dishes of hers, is Noodle Flakes in Soup 麵疙瘩/ 麵猴粉. It was passed on from my grandma, which was a common dish from her village in China.
Easy Steamed Salted Whole Chicken 簡易蒸鹽焗雞
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken
- 1 tbsp Course salt
- 1 stalk Green onions
- 2 slices Ginger
- 1 Shallot , halved
- 1 Chinese sausage (optional), aka “lap cheung”
- 1 pkg Spicy Bake Mix aka baked chicken powder (Using the Spicy Bake Mix is quick, easy and tasty. But you can also rub the chicken with 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp white pepper powder for a simpler flavour)
- ½ tsp Tumeric powder
- 2 tbsp Oil
How to make ginger and green onion dipping sauce:
- 2 stalks Green onions , chopped
- 1 tbsp Ginger , minced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Oil , hot
Instructions
- Wash the green onions and tie it into a knot and set aside
- Cut the shallot in half and cut 2 slices of ginger. Set aside
- Blanche the Chinese sausage for 30 seconds in boiling water. Remove from water and set aside
- Take 1 tbsp of course salt and rub it over the chicken skin and the inside cavity, like you’re exfoliating it. Then submerse in large mixing bowl to rinse off salt.
- Cut off the nails on the chicken feet with a knife or kitchen shears
- Bend and fold the chicken feet into the cavity of the chicken to keep the cavity open as wide as possible.
- Sit the chicken with the cavity down in a colander to drain all the water and air-dry the skin for 60 minutes. I find that drying it with a paper towel doesn’t dry it enough. If you’re in a hurry, I suggest drying it with a hairdryer for a few minutes
This is a crucial step for achieving moist meat and the perfect skin - Combine one package of the Spicy Bake Mix with ½ tsp of turmeric powder
the purpose of the turmeric is to add a yellow colour to the chicken - Rub the combined powders onto the skin of the chicken as well as inside the cavity
If the skin of your chicken is so dry that the powders won’t stick to the chicken, make a paste with the powder using 1-2 tbsp of water or Shaoxing wine and then rub it on the chicken. An FAQ that I get is, “why don’t you marinade the chicken before letting it air-dry?” I find that the chicken will lose some of its juices and natural flavours if marinated for over 15 minutes, but this is my personal preference. 
- Put the knotted green onions, shallot, ginger and Chinese sausage into the cavity of the chicken
The oil from the Chinese sausage will help flavour the chicken as well as keep the chicken moist - Rub 2 tbsp of oil onto the outside of the chicken
This will prevent the skin from breaking and to help keep the flavour on the chicken - Place the chicken, breast side down, onto a steaming dish and prepare the steamer on high heat U
se a steaming plate with a higher lip because you’ll likely get a good amount of juice from the chicken and steam water. Save the juice from the steaming plate to make a sauce or for noodles - When the water in the steamer boils, put the chicken into the steamer
- Steam on high heat for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and steam for another 30 minutes. This is for a 4 lb or 1800g chicken. Refer to above reference guide for other weights
- After total steaming time of 45 minutes, check the chicken for doneness. Insert a chopstick or toothpick into the thickest part of the chicken, like the thigh meat, and pull it out. If the juice that flows out is clear, then your chicken is done. If you see some red or pink, then steam for another 5 to 10 minutes and check again.
- Once your chicken is done, remove the lid and let the chicken rest either in or out of the steamer for 15 minutes
- After 15 minutes, transfer the chicken from the steaming plate to a dry one
- If you are chopping up the chicken, it would be best to chop it up when it has cooled
I chopped the one in the picture after 30 minutes and it was still a bit warm - You can also debone it to make a hand shredded chicken
- Serve and enjoy!
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