This easy Chinese Steamed Chicken with ginger & spring onion is juicy, tender & will be a family fav. Serve with rice and 2 dipping sauces!
Happy Lunar New Year!
Happy Lunar New Year for 2023 for those celebrating! My family and I have always loved Chinese New Year celebrations, so we get caught up in the excitement.
Not only are we fans of the celebrations, but we also love Chinese cuisine. Growing up, my parents only ate out at Chinese restaurants because they were affordable and tasty. Feeding a family of 7 was quite expensive, even back then!
For my Chinese New Year post, I’m sharing a family favourite. Easy Steamed Chinese-inspired Chicken with Ginger and Spring Onion served with rice and two dipping sauces.
My family loves this Chinese Steamed Chicken and we could eat it repeatedly and not get bored with it.
With only a few ingredients, this chicken is actually quite delicate in flavour, but it’s tender and juicy. The advantage of a lightly flavoured chicken means we get a little crazy with the yummy condiments.
Steam rice is a must and perhaps some vegetables, but for us, it’s the dipping sauces. Whenever I’m making this chicken, I usually do at least 2 sauces to serve it with. My two favourite sauces are Ginger Spring Onion Sauce and Chilli Garlic Ginger Sauce, and I have included them with this recipe!
Chinese horoscopes for 3CatsFoodie’s household
My husband is a pig! ….. well, under the Chinese horoscopes, he is. Bad joke I know!
It’s the year of the Rabbit! So what does that mean for a cheeky monkey like me? These Chinese horoscopes are from the first site that came up on Google ‘chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/’ (not sponsored)
Monkey’s Personality: sharp, smart, quick-witted, confident but naughty. I’ll take that as a compliment, but I don’t think I’m a confident person. I’m definitely naughty and love to goof around. Monkeys are also sly, restless, and inquisitive nature. Say what? Hmm, I’m actually too honest and direct, but I’m definitely curious by nature!
Tomi and my 3-year-old toddler Kai are both pigs. Traits for pigs: Broad-minded, amicable, and willing to help others. This definitely describes Tomi to a tee! Pigs never suspect trickery, so they are easily fooled. That’s true also, hubby always falls for my silly pranks! As for Kai, at his age, he’s the opposite of all those things!
My sister Nara is a dog! So many jokes in my head, but I’ll be good. Due to having a strong sense of loyalty and sincerity, Dogs will do everything for the person who they think is most important. Yes, this person or people are her friends!
More Chinese-inspired dishes to get your taste buds excited:
Pork & Clams Stir-fry
Spicy Vermicelli Noodles
Chinese steamed fish
Pork Prawn Potstickers
Ingredients for Chinese Steamed Chicken
Whole chicken – A chicken that weighs between 1.5 to 1.6 kg (3.3 to 3.5 lb) is ideal for steaming as it’s not too big or small. The chicken should feed approximately 4 to 5 people when served with rice.
Light soy sauce or regular soy sauce will work, but not dark or sweet soy sauces, as these aren’t interchangeable.
Shaoxing cooking wine is a Chinese cooking wine, sometimes known as Shao Xing or Shao Hsing. It comprises water, rice, wheat, salt and alcohol. Bottles of Shaoxing wine are cheap to buy from Asian specialty stores and some supermarkets stock them too. Mirin or dry sherry are good substitutes for Shaoxing wine.
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How to make Chinese Steamed Chicken
Step-by-step guide with photos
Pat the chicken dry using paper towels, then chop the chicken in half lengthwise and place it in a large bowl. Add in the ginger, spring onions, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and salt. Use your hands to massage the ingredients into the chicken, then cover it with plastic film. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, work on the dipping sauces.
For the Ginger Spring Onion Sauce: Place the ginger, spring onion, and salt into a small heatproof bowl. Heat oil over high heat in a small saucepan. The oil is ready when it’s smoking hot. Carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl over the ginger and spring onion. Stir the sauce and set aside until ready to serve. The sauce is good for up to a week when covered and chilled in the fridge.
For the Chilli Ginger Garlic Sauce – Place the garlic, ginger and chilli into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. You could also hand chop them finely using a knife. Transfer the mixture into a small bowl and pour in the vinegar, then add in the sugar and salt. Stir the sauce until the sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside for later until ready to serve. The sauce is good for up to a week when covered and chilled in the fridge.
In a large saucepan with a steamer attachment, fill in the water 2/3 full. Place the saucepan over high heat without the steamer attachment and bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, place a large plate into the steamer attachment, then place the chicken, including the marinade, ginger and shallots.
Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium, and attach the steamer and steam for 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 to 30 minutes before chopping and serving.
Leftovers – Allow the chicken to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer it into a sealed container and store it in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only. This data does not include the dipping sauces.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Chinese Steamed Chicken (ginger & spring onion)
Ingredients
- 1.5 to 1.6 kg whole chicken (cut in half) (NOTE 1)
- 40 gm ginger (sliced into thin strips)
- 3 stalks spring onion/scallion (sliced lengthwise 5cm/2in)
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce (NOTE 2)
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (NOTE 3)
- 2 tsp salt
Ginger Spring Onion Sauce
- ⅓ cup peanut oil (80ml/2.7 fl oz)
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 3 stalks spring onion/scallion (finely sliced)
- 1 tsp salt (or more or less, adjust to taste)
Chilli Ginger Garlic Sauce
- 3 tbsp white vinegar 60ml/ 1.7fl oz)
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp minced ginger
- 4 to 6 Birds eye chilli (or small red chillies, adjust to taste)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry using paper towels, then chop the chicken in half lengthwise and place it in a large bowl. Add in the ginger, spring onions, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and salt. Use your hands to massage the ingredients into the chicken, then cover it with plastic film. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, work on the dipping sauces.
- For the Ginger Spring Onion Sauce: Place the ginger, spring onion, and salt into a small heatproof bowl. Heat oil over high heat in a small saucepan. The oil is ready when it's smoking hot. Carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl over the ginger and spring onion. Stir the sauce and set aside until ready to serve. The sauce is good for up to a week when covered and chilled in the fridge.
- For the Chilli Ginger Garlic Sauce – Place the garlic, ginger and chilli into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. You could also hand chop them finely using a knife. Transfer the mixture into a small bowl and pour in the vinegar, then add in the sugar and salt. Stir the sauce until the sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside for later until ready to serve. The sauce is good for up to a week when covered and chilled in the fridge.
- In a large saucepan with a steamer attachment, fill in the water 2/3 full. Place the saucepan over high heat without the steamer attachment and bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, place a large plate into the steamer attachment, then place the chicken, including the marinade, ginger and shallots. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium, and attach the steamer and steam for 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 to 30 minutes before chopping and serving.
