Speaker A
This recipe has at least a century of history. The person who taught me is nearly 80.
Chef Lao Gu teaches two Cantonese-style chicken dishes: a spiced white-cut chicken and mushroom chicken, with a Hong Kong ginger-scallion sauce. Crispy skin, tender meat.
Key Takeaways
- Blanching the skin repeatedly and then ice-bathing it is key to crisp skin.
- Low, barely-simmering heat keeps the chicken smooth and tender.
- Squeezing ginger in cloth removes bitterness and prevents watery sauce.
What the video covers
- The video presents a recipe said to be at least a century old, taught by a teacher nearly 80 years old.
- Whole chicken is first rubbed with salt and marinated for 30 minutes to build base flavor.
- The skin is blanched in boiling water for about 10 seconds, then plunged into ice water, repeated three times so the skin tightens and turns crisp.
- A spice blend of Sichuan peppercorn, licorice root, cinnamon bark, cardamom, white peppercorn, star anise and bay leaves is added to the pot.
- The chicken is simmered on the lowest heat or barely at all for about 25 minutes for a two-pound bird.
- A Hong Kong-style ginger sauce is made by blending ginger with water, squeezing it dry in cloth to remove bitterness, then mixing with scallions, sugar, salt, chicken essence and warm oil.
- The mushroom chicken version uses cold-soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, marinated with dark soy, oyster sauce, seasoning, sugar, starch and Shaoxing wine.
- Presentation includes drizzling oil over the plated chicken, which the host calls 'happy oil'.
- The host emphasizes that the chicken should have crisp skin and smooth, tender meat, and that the dish is served two ways: plain and flavored.
- Tasting notes highlight the crunchy skin and the tender part near the bone.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
I've been waiting. We're making two different chicken flavors: mushroom stewed chicken and white-cut chicken. Actually, since you know the ingredients, you can introduce them to everyone.
Speaker A
This is Sichuan peppercorn. Licorice root. Cinnamon bark. Small cardamom. White peppercorns. Star anise. Bay leaves.
Speaker A
Alright, for the first step, look, we handle the outside and inside. We rub it with salt.
Speaker A
To give it a base flavor. This is giving the chicken a "massage." Mm, a chicken massage. A classic culinary technique.
Speaker A
Quiet. Marinate for 30 minutes. Many people skip this, but I insist. If you don't marinate, the chicken will be bland. 30 minutes are up.
Speaker A
The next step is to blanch the skin. Once the water is boiling, we dip it in.
Speaker A
Dip it in for just 10 seconds, then into ice water. 10 seconds is enough.
Speaker A
Cooling down. Right, here's our second blanch. Here. Take it out. Look, once blanched, the skin...
Speaker A
Tightens up, it tightens up. Alright, this is our third time. Hey, the string didn't even break.
Speaker A
Your turn. Good, we put this into the ice water. After that, we add all these spices into the pot.
Speaker A
We add some salt, and into the pot we put... Place the chicken in. Turn the heat down low.
Speaker A
Keep the pot at the lowest simmer, or even no simmer at all. For a two-pound chicken like this, it takes about 25 minutes.
Speaker A
This chicken, once cooked... What should the texture be? The skin should be crisp. And the meat should be smooth and tender. You'll only understand once you taste it.
Speaker A
I can't wait anymore. See you in 25 minutes. Next, I'll teach you how to make an authentic Hong Kong-style ginger sauce.
Speaker A
You have to add water when blending the ginger; otherwise, it won't blend. We must put this ginger in a cloth and squeeze it dry.
Speaker A
This removes the bitterness from the ginger, and the ginger mash won't get watery. After squeezing, don't waste the juice; we can use it for the chicken.
Speaker A
We add some seasoning here. We add a tiny bit of sugar to balance it. Salt.
Speaker A
Adjust the saltiness to your own taste, and add a little chicken essence or powder.
Speaker A
The ratio of green onions is generally 2 to 1. If you're eating it the same day, we heat the oil until hot, but if you're making a batch to store, hmm.
Speaker A
You have to use warm oil. Like I do in my restaurant. I use warm oil to mix this sauce.
Speaker A
Get the tools ready in time. Take a look. After it comes out, we need to, eh.
Speaker A
Did you get a fresh bucket of ice water? Let's check here to make sure it's chilled through.
Speaker A
Is the next segment for Erbai's show, or something else? Is this the base for the herbs?
Speaker A
Hey. Do you want it? No, let me rest and prep the ingredients. It's actually quite simple. We must use dried shiitake mushrooms, and they must be soaked in cold water. If you're making it the next day, soak them the night before. Once soaked, we can...
Speaker A
Let's wash the chicken, alright? Flour. Okay, that's enough, no need for more.
Speaker A
Right. Now add starch. Combining these two makes it absorb impurities better. There, get it coated evenly.
Speaker A
Wash it like this, then rinse it off. Exactly. Look. Washed clean as can be.
Speaker A
Soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is mainly for color, just a little bit is enough.
Speaker A
Oyster sauce. Seasoning. If you have chicken powder, you can add some; if not, chicken bouillon concentrate works too.
Speaker A
Remember everyone, no need to add salt, because these ingredients are already salty. Add pepper.
Speaker A
Add sugar, okay, add some more. Starch. Once the flavors are rubbed in and absorbed.
Speaker A
Right. Okay, Shaoxing wine. Add a little more. What's the last step? Shiitake mushrooms. Add the mushrooms in.
Speaker A
Mix it all up, and then? Once finished, we find a plate. After that, we need to seal it with a little oil.
Speaker A
Okay. Alright, let's plate it up. Ten minutes. This dish must be smooth and tender to meet the standards.
Speaker A
The ingredients have to be good. If you want it to look prettier, we can drizzle some oil.
Speaker A
What Erbai always calls "happy oil." Happy oil, let the chicken be happy too.
Speaker A
The bone must be red; look, this is just perfect. 1, 2, 3. This piece has the most flavor; everyone loves this part.
Speaker A
This is the tenderest part, it goes perfectly with the chicken. The skin is so crispy, really crispy!
Speaker A
The chicken tastes like real chicken. Have a piece of the skin later, I'll have one too.
Speaker A
Hey, try the skin. Crunchy, so crunchy. It's truly crunchy. I believe this recipe is at least a hundred years old. The person who taught me is almost 80 now.
Speaker A
Here, you try this. One chicken, two ways to eat: first, we enjoy the natural, original flavor; second, we enjoy a complex blend of flavors. One chicken, one recipe, tasting different flavors.
Speaker A
We cook with care. You eat well. Follow Lao Gu. Eat like you mean it.
Topics:white-cut chickenmushroom chickenCantonese recipeHong Kong ginger saucechicken recipeChinese cookingblanching chicken skinshiitake mushroomscooking tutorialLao Gu
