Steam chicken”白切雞” is always considered my comfort food that reminds me of home. There are days when being a mom just takes its toll. I’m chasing after my toddler and picking up his toys. I’m feeding my newborn and trying to get her down for a nap. All while in the back of my mind thinking, what should I make for dinner tonight? My hope is one day, even when my kids grow up and they have their own lives, they will come back home and want me to make their favorite dish that reminds them of their childhood.
Why Steam Chicken?
Steamed chicken, just like its name, is chicken that is seasoned lightly with salt and steamed on a rack for 16 minutes and then glazed and served with a side of green onion and ginger sauce. I know what ya’ll are thinking. Fried chicken is comfort food. Roast chicken is comfort food. But I’m here to tell you that it’s all about this Chinese chicken recipe. Steamed chicken doesn’t have any seasonings other than the green onion and ginger sauce, and so you can truly taste the essence of the chicken flavor. It’s also really easy to make, with the exception of chopping (more on that here.)
And lastly, if you cook it right, it will NOT be dry. I’m very picky about dry chicken, and over frying and roasting too long can dry out a chicken. The critical part of dry chicken is the breast. If you can keep the chicken breast moist, then the whole chicken will be moist too. Steaming forces all the juices to be retained in the chicken during cooking, so it doesn’t dry out as much. Yes, whether you love white meat or dark meat, you will be a fan of both after you taste this steamed chicken. The method of steaming is less direct heat source than roasting for pan frying, which gives the chicken meat a silkier texture.
Ingredients
- Whole Free Range Chicken (Preferable)
- 1 Tablespoon of Salt
Ginger and Green Onion Sauce (薑茸)
- ½ Teaspoons of Salt
- 1 sprig of green onion
- 2 thumb size ginger
- 4 tablespoon of oil (vegetable or corn oil preferable)
Instructions
- Sharpen your knife first before you start chopping the chicken
- Wash the chicken with cold water and then dry the chicken with a paper towel
3. If chicken comes with head and chicken feet, chop both off first.
4. Chop the head of the chicken and discard.
5. Chop the neck and place it on steaming plate
6. Bending the feet backwards and exposing the joint makes it easier to chop off
7. Chop the chicken feet where the cartilage is between the chicken feet and drumstick
8. Apply salt all over the chicken generously
9. Place chicken on a steaming flat plate, place a spoon underneath the chicken to let it come off the plate a little. (this helps the steam get through to the bottom side of the chicken)
10. Pour 3 cups of water in wok with steaming rack and turn heat on high heat until water boils
11. Place the chicken breast side up
12. After water is boiling in wok, place chicken in the wok and turn down the heat to medium
13. Steam chicken for 16 minutes.
14. While chicken is steaming, make the ginger and green onion sauce
15. Pour juices from chicken in a bowl. Reserve for chicken stock use.
16. Chop chicken on a cutting board.

Ginger and Green Onion Sauce
- Peel ginger until there’s no skin left
2. Grate the ginger in a grater and put in a bowl
3. Cut top and ends of green onion and discard
4. Chop green onion in ½ cm increments
5. Place ginger, green onion, and salt in a bowl and mix well
7. Boil oil at high heat in a pan for a few minutes
8. When pan starts steaming, pour hot oil into bowl of ginger and green onion.
9. Mix with chopsticks and serve with chicken
Steam Chicken 白切雞

Steamed chicken, just like its name, is chicken that is seasoned lightly with salt and steamed on a rack for 16 mins and then glazed and served with a side of green onion and ginger sauce. I know what ya’ll are thinking. Fried chicken is comfort food. Roast chicken is comfort food. But I’m here to tell you that it’s all about steamed chicken. Steamed chicken doesn’t have any seasonings other than the green onion and ginger sauce, and so you can truly taste the essence of the chicken flavor.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
-
Whole Free Range Chicken (Preferable)
-
1 Tablespoons of Salt
Ginger and Green Onion Sauce (薑茸)
- 1 ½ Teaspoons of Salt
-
1 sprig of green onion
-
2 thumb size ginger
-
3 tablespoon of oil (vegetable or corn oil preferable)
Instructions
1. Sharpen your knife first before you start chopping the chicken
2. Wash the chicken with cold water and then dry the chicken with a paper towel
3. If chicken comes with head and chicken feet, chop both off first.
4. Chop the head of the chicken and discard.
5. Chop the neck and place it on steaming plate
6. Bending the feet backwards and exposing the joint makes it easier to chop off
7. Chop the chicken feet where the cartilage is between the chicken feet and drumstick
8. Apply salt all over the chicken generously
9. Pour 3 cups of water in wok with steaming rack and turn heat on high heat until water boils
10. Place chicken on a steaming flat plate, place a spoon underneath the chicken to let it come off the plate a little. (this helps the steam get through to the bottom side of the chicken)
11. Place the chicken breast side up
12. After water is boiling in wok, place chicken in the wok and turn down the heat to medium
13. Steam chicken for 16 minutes.
14. While chicken is steaming, make the ginger and green onion sauce
15. Pour juices from chicken in a bowl. Reserve for chicken stock use
16. Chop chicken on a cutting board. (Reference my guide to chopping chicken)
17. Serve Chicken with Ginger and Green Onion Sauce on the side.
Ginger and Green Onion Sauce
18. Peel Ginger until there’s no skin left
19. Grate the ginger in a grater and put in a bowl
20. Cut top and ends of green onion and discard
21. Chop green onion in ½ cm increments
22. Place ginger and green onion in a bowl and mix well
23. Put salt in the bowl
24. Boil oil at high heat in a pan for a few minutes
25. When the pan starts steaming, pour hot oil into a bowl of ginger and green onion.
26. Mix with chopsticks and serve with chicken
Keywords: Steam Chicken
Steam Chicken & ginger sauce is a staple when I visited my grandma’s house for dinner as a little girl. My grandma always told me it’s super easy, but a whole chicken looked so intimidating! I reached out to Christine on IG for some tips and she said I could use chicken quarter for 12/15 minutes! The result was sooooo juicy and tender and deeeelicious! I even made extra ginger sauce because I love eating it with white rice. Thank you Christine for such an easy, delicious, and healthy recipe!
★★★★★
A staple in my rotation now because it’s just too easy! The green onion and ginger sauce is my favorite and I don’t even like ginger. I never realized how simple it is to make this delicious sauce. I used the chicken broth and a few extra slices of ginger to cook my rice to use up all of the ingredients. Another great experience following Christine’s instructions =)
★★★★★
Wow! Thank you for your input, I will continue to work on my sauces. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!