Taiwanese-Inspired Chicken Rice

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken thighs or drums (skin-on, bone-in (boneless works too))
• 5 g fine salt (for rubbing)
• 25 g ginger (sliced)
• 40 g spring onion (for steaming)
• 40 g shallot oil (or chicken oil)
• 40 g light soy sauce
• 2 g sugar
• 0.5 g white pepper
• 5 g sesame oil
• chicken juices (all juices collected from steaming the chicken)
• crispy shallots (for topping)
• spring onion (for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Score the chicken on the thicker parts to ensure it cooks evenly.

2. 2

   Rub the chicken thoroughly with 5g of fine salt and let it rest for 15–30 minutes.

3. 3

   Prepare a steamer. Place the sliced ginger and 40g of spring onions at the bottom of the steaming dish, then place the salted chicken on top.

4. 4

   Steam the chicken for 16–20 minutes until the internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 68–70°C (154-158°F).

5. 5

   Remove the chicken from the steamer and let it rest for 10 minutes. The carryover heat should bring the internal temperature to approximately 72–74°C (162-165°F).

6. 6

   While the chicken rests, collect all the chicken juices created from the steaming process.

7. 7

   In a bowl, combine 40g shallot oil, 40g light soy sauce, 2g sugar, 0.5g white pepper, 5g sesame oil, and all of the collected chicken juices. Mix well to create the sauce.

8. 8

   Shred the rested chicken into bite-sized pieces.

9. 9

   Toss the shredded chicken with the prepared sauce, fried shallots, and fresh spring onions. Serve over rice.

Notes

For the best flavor, use skin-on chicken as the fat contributes significantly to the sauce. If you don't have shallot oil, you can make it by slowly frying thinly sliced shallots in neutral oil until golden and crispy. The creator emphasizes keeping the chicken seasoning simple (just salt) so the flavor sequence starts with chicken and ends with the fragrant soy-shallot sauce.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• chicken
• steamed
• Taiwanese-inspired
• high-protein
• shredded chicken