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It is a recipe for those who like it super easy without the tedious steps of frying. With this 5-step steamed chicken recipe, you get to experience a Guangdong-style dish ready in 50 minutes or less than an hour. Simply marinate (20 minutes) and steam (20 minutes) the whole chicken and drizzle the delicious sauce all over for a boost of flavor.
All About Guangdong-Style Steamed Chicken
One of the most popular dishes in Guangdong is steamed chicken. What makes steaming great for chicken recipes? Well, for starters, steaming is excellent in preserving the natural taste and nutrients of the chicken.
For obvious reasons, steaming is a go-to cooking method since it is simple and quick to do with just a steamer. It gives you a quality-tasting and tender chicken minus all the tedious steps. In this recipe, I first marinated the chicken in salt and rice wine.
Afterward, I steamed the whole chicken with slices of ginger for 20 minutes then chopped it into small pieces. It gets its overall flavor from the sauce I made, which is a mix of sand ginger, coriander, hot oil, shallots, and light soy sauce. Serve this while hot and fresh as your entree for lunch or dinner!
If you are looking for other ways to cook chicken, check out these recipes as well:
- Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
- Lo Mai Gai (Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice Chicken)
- Black Chicken Soup (Chinese Silkie Chicken)
- Air-Fried Chinese Chicken On A Stick
- Yu Shiang Chicken
- Chinese-Style Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings
- Ippudo-style Teba Gyoza (Stuffed Chicken Wings)
- Korean Fried Chicken
- “Tori Q” Chicken Balls Yakitori
- Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Bowl)
- Butter Chicken with Naan
- Mexican Chicken Kebabs
Check Out These Tips And Alternatives
There are several ways to add flavor to the steamed chicken, whether you like it savory, spicy, or sweet. You can follow the ingredients I used or change it up a bit with your preferred ingredients. If you need ideas for alternatives, here are some suggestions worth noting.
- Whole chicken: I used a whole chicken, but you can use half or pre-cut pieces of chicken if you prefer. If you decide to use cuts of chicken, go for chicken with skin and bones still on. You can use a small to large whole chicken. However, I recommend a small whole chicken if you want it to be more tender and evenly cooked. You can typically get smaller-sized chicken in Asian supermarkets. In this recipe, I steamed the chicken for 20 minutes. The time may vary depending on the size of your whole chicken. Insert a chopstick into the thickest part of the chicken to check if it’s cooked through. If it releases a clear fluid without blood, then it is cooked. If not, you may need to cook it for 5 minutes or more. To help you cook it evenly, you can try to flatten out the chicken’s breast area for steaming.
- Preparing chicken: According to the USDA, washing the chicken is not recommended since its bacteria easily transfer to other foods, kitchenware, and surfaces. So, the best practice is to prepare the other ingredients first, such as vegetables and spices before preparing the chicken. The only way to destroy the bacteria from the chicken is by making sure it is cooked thoroughly at the right temperature. The USDA recommends poultry to be safe to eat at 165°F.
- Marinade: I marinated the chicken with salt and cooking wine for 20 minutes before steaming. You can omit the cooking wine if you cannot consume alcohol.
- Salt: Salt is the essential component of a marinade. It deepens the flavor by allowing all parts of the chicken to fully absorb the flavoring ingredients. Use any type of salt, such as sea salt, pink salt, and kosher salt.
- Rice wine: I like to add Chinese cooking wine for a slightly sweet and briny taste to the chicken. You can typically buy this in the international section of a local grocery store or in Asian markets. If you don’t have cooking wine or Shaoxing rice wine, replace it with dry sherry, meat or vegetable broth, red wine vinegar, or alcohol-free wine.
- Optional flavoring ingredient: Aside from cooking wine and salt, you can also add a small amount of light soy sauce for more umami and salty flavors.
- Flavoring ingredients for steaming: I added slices of ginger during the steaming step.
- Ginger: Ginger adds a warming and earthy taste to the chicken. You can swap fresh ginger with ground ginger if you still want that zing of ginger. Use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger for every 1 tbsp of fresh ginger.
- Sauce: I mixed sand ginger and coriander with hot oil and allowed them to sizzle. Then, I added crisp fried shallots and light soy sauce for extra flavor and texture.
- Sand ginger: Sand ginger is a common Asian ingredient that is also called aromatic ginger, shā jiāng, or 沙薑. It is typically in dried form or fresh. Dried sand ginger comes in powder or slices. If looking for sand ginger, it is more pale and rough in texture than a typical ginger. Sand ginger has a different flavor profile than regular ginger. It has a stronger peppery taste and a slightly sour taste with a hint of camphor-like taste. If you need to replace sand ginger, use regular ginger instead.
- Coriander: Fresh coriander leaves add a tart and lemon-like taste. You can swap fresh coriander with coriander powder, parsley, mint, or basil.
- Hot oil: I let the sand ginger and coriander sizzle in hot oil. It heats the sauce ingredients and infuses all the flavors. I recommend using oil with a high-smoke point to reduce the amount of oil oxidized and to withstand heat longer. Oil with a high smoke point are avocado, peanut, canola, and corn oil. For a healthier alternative, use olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil. For a neutral taste, go for peanut, soybean, or vegetable oil. You will know when the oil is hot enough when it starts to bubble when you place a wooden spoon or a piece of ingredient like chopped ginger.
- Shallots: I used cooked shallots from my Fried Shallots In Oil In this recipe, cut the shallots and deep-fry them in oil until golden brown. I recommend making this fried shallot recipe in advance and making a large batch for future use. Aside from fried shallots, you can also use fresh shallots if you prefer and let them sizzle in the hot oil. Shallots are great for an extra slight sweetness with notes of garlic. You can replace shallots with chopped green onions, chives, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce deepens the flavor by adding umaminess and saltiness. You can swap this with dark soy sauce as a substitute, but you will have to adjust the amount since dark soy sauce is thicker and sweeter. Other types of soy sauce to consider are tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Optional flavoring ingredients: You can alter the sauce flavor with these optional ingredients:
- Oyster sauce: Add oyster sauce if you want to add a hint of barbecue and caramel-like taste. You can substitute oyster sauce with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
- Sesame oil: For a nutty and earthy taste, add a small amount of sesame oil as well.
- Garlic: Make it garlicky and nutty with minced garlic or garlic powder. If you don’t have garlic but want the garlicky flavors, you can substitute 1 clove of garlic with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic. You can also use pre-cooked garlic using my Crispy Fried Garlic Recipe.
- White pepper powder: Make it earthy with a subtle hot taste with white pepper. For a woody, piney, and hot taste, use black pepper powder instead.
- Sugar: Use sugar to help you balance out the flavors of the sauce. You can use any type of sweetener, including white sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- Chili oil: To make it spicy, opt for chili oil or chili garlic sauce. You can also use chopped green and red chili peppers. Other ingredients to make this spicy are chili flakes and cayenne pepper.
Prepare These Kitchenware And Ingredients
The most important kitchen appliance to fulfill the recipe is a steamer. Use your regular steamer with a steaming basket and a heat-resistant container. If you don’t have a steamer, you can still steam without a steamer in 5 ways: pan with steamer rack, microwave, pan with sieve, rice cooker, and instant pot.
Aside from a steamer, prepare a kitchen knife, preferably a butcher knife or meat cleaver to chop the whole chicken easily. A meat cleaver is better for cutting through bones, joints, and tough meat. You will also need a container for marinating, mixing, and serving.
Here are the ingredients to prepare and adjust to taste:
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon sand ginger
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 tablespoons hot oil
- 2 tablespoons crisp fried shallots
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Follow These Detailed Instructions
The steps are easy to follow, just marinate, steam, and pour the sauce. For the most part, you simply have to wait for the chicken to finish marinating and steaming! Watch how I did it with my Instagram or TikTok tutorial video.
When you are done making this recipe, remember to take a photo and share it with me by tagging @kitchenmisadventures. Share how you customized the dish by leaving a comment in the comments section as well. Follow these detailed instructions to make steamed chicken Guangdong-style.
- Prepare the ingredients. Chop the ingredients, such as ginger, and Season the chicken by massaging it with salt and rice wine. Marinate for 20 minutes. You can use kitchen gloves as you massage the marinade to the chicken.
- Transfer the marinated chicken to a heat-resistant plate and in the steamer basket. Cover the steamer with a lid and steam it with 3 slices of ginger for 20 minutes. Check if the chicken is cooked by inserting a chopstick into the thickest part of the chicken to see if it releases clear juice. If not, add a few more minutes to cook the chicken thoroughly.
- After steaming, let it cool and cut the steamed chicken into smaller pieces. First, cut the wings and wing tips. Then, chop off the legs, thigh, and drumstick. When chopping the chicken breast and other large meat cuts, slice it into long strips about 1 to 2 cm wide. Transfer the chicken to your chosen serving plate and set aside. Use a butcher’s knife to cut it easily through the bone and tough meat.
- Prepare the savory sauce. In a heat-resistant bowl, mix chopped sand ginger, and coriander. Heat oil in a pan and drizzle the hot oil over them. The oil is hot enough when the ingredients sizzle. Then, add crisp fried shallots and light soy sauce for extra flavor. Stir the sauce well.
- Drizzle the hot sauce over the chopped chicken. Serve while hot and fresh!
Enjoy this steamed chicken with Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Lap Cheong Chow Fan), Traditional Chinese Beef Chow Fun, and Chinese Water Spinach Stir Fry.
5-Step Steamed Chicken Recipe (Cantonese Style)
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon sand ginger
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 tablespoons hot oil
- 2 tablespoons crisp fried shallots
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients. Chop the ingredients, such as ginger, and Season the chicken by massaging it with salt and rice wine. Marinate for 20 minutes. You can use kitchen gloves as you massage the marinade to the chicken.
- Transfer the marinated chicken to a heat-resistant plate and in the steamer basket. Cover the steamer with a lid and steam it with 3 slices of ginger for 20 minutes. Check if the chicken is cooked by inserting a chopstick into the thickest part of the chicken to see if it releases clear juice. If not, add a few more minutes to cook the chicken thoroughly.
- After steaming, let it cool and cut the steamed chicken into smaller pieces. First, cut the wings and wing tips. Then, chop off the legs, thigh, and drumstick. When chopping the chicken breast and other large meat cuts, slice it into long strips about 1 to 2 cm wide. Transfer the chicken to your chosen serving plate and set aside. Use a butcher's knife to cut it easily through the bone and tough meat.
- Prepare the savory sauce. In a heat-resistant bowl, mix chopped sand ginger, and coriander. Heat oil in a pan and drizzle the hot oil over them. The oil is hot enough when the ingredients sizzle. Then, add crisp fried shallots and light soy sauce for extra flavor. Stir the sauce well.
- Drizzle the hot sauce over the chopped chicken. Serve while hot and fresh!
