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Hand-Shredded Chicken

By Bill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin Leung

4.5

(2)

Handshredded chicken with herbs and onions.
Photo by Sarah Leung and Kaitlin Leung

This simple hand-shredded chicken, or shǒu sī jī, is a light but satisfying meal. While many recipes call for steaming the chicken, we poach it instead, leaving it in a pot of hot water with the heat off to finish cooking. This not only prevents overcooking, it also gives the chicken a silky texture. We also like the addition of raw red onion at the end, which contributes freshness and bite. And because we know the spice fiends will be asking—yes, you can use a couple Thai chiles in the sauce if you prefer more heat. For those prone to profuse chile sweats, omit them to keep it mild.

This recipe was excerpted from 'The Woks of Life' by Bill Leung, Kaitlin Leung, Judy Leung, and Sarah Leung. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more of our best Chinese chicken recipes here→

What you’ll need

Cook's note:

After you’ve poached the chicken, you’ll be left with a light broth. Use it instead of water to make a more flavorful batch of jasmine rice or add it to other recipes that call for chicken broth or water.

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