• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Better Asian recipes for home cooks

  • Recipes
    • Cuisine
      • Chinese
      • Japanese
      • Korean
      • Thai
      • Vietnamese
      • Taiwanese
      • Filipino
      • Indonesian
      • Malaysian
      • South Asian
      • Fusion
      • Street Food
    • Ingredient
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
      • Meat
      • Rice & Grains
      • Noodles
      • Vegetables
      • Tofu
      • Mushrooms
      • Bread
      • Eggs
      • Fruits
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Snacks
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
      • Drinks
  • Kitchen
  • Stories
  • Cuisine
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Thai
    • Taiwanese
    • Filipino
    • Indonesian
    • Malaysian
    • South Asian
    • Fusion
  • Main Ingredient
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Meat
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
      • Noodle Soups
      • Noodles Stir Fry
      • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
    • Vegetables
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Bread
    • Eggs
    • Fruits
  • Course
    • Breakfast
    • Snacks
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Sweets
    • Drinks
  • Street Food
  • Kitchen Tales
  • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / All Recipes / Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce

Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
The Chinese name is kou shui ji (sometimes translated as saliva chicken) but the dish is actually poached chicken in Sichuan chili oil sauce. Definitely no saliva among the ingredients. But the chicken will make your mouth water with its sublime flavors.
This dish is traditionally cooked using a whole chicken. But poaching a whole chicken takes longer and is a lot trickier too. So, we use thigh fillets with still fantastic results.
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 people
Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce in Serving Bowl
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 3 slices ginger
  • 2 stalks scallions
  • 6 chicken thigh fillets skin on
  • 2 tablespoons sweet rice wine
  • ½ teaspoon salt

To serve

  • ¼ to â…“ cup Sichuan chili oil sauce (see notes after the recipe)

To garnish

  • 2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions

Instructions
 

  • Put the ginger and scallions in a pot and pour in the rice wine and two cups of water. Stir in the salt.
  • Pat the chicken thigh fillets dry with kitchen paper and slide into the pot.
    Poaching chicken thigh fillets with ginger and scallions
  • Set the heat to high and bring the chicken to the boil. Cook the chicken, uncovered, for three minutes (that allows the internal temperature of the chicken to reach or even go over 165F so you don't get salmonella).
  • Cover the pot, turn off the stove and leave the chicken thigh fillets to finish cooking in the residual heat for seven minutes to ten minutes, depending on how thick they are.
  • Scoop out the chicken thigh fillets, dump into a bowl of icy water and leave them there for 30 seconds. This will firm up the chicken to make slicing easier without loss of meat juices.
    Cooling poached chicken in icy water
  • Slice the chicken thigh fillets and arrange in a bowl.
  • Drizzle the Sichuan chili oil sauce over and around the chicken, sprinkle in the peanuts and sliced scallions, and serve.

Notes

Note that Sichuan chili oil and chili oil sauce are not the same thing. You have to make the chili oil first in order to make the sauce. The link in the ingredients list will lead you to the full instructions.
You can make the chili oil in advance. In fact, it is a better strategy to make it in advance because the flavors get better over time. Chili oil can be kept, covered, at room temperature for a few weeks.
Inspired by a recipe from China Sichuan Food.
Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce
Keyword Chicken, Spicy
More Chinese Food
3 soy sauce pork belly

3 Soy Sauce Braised Pork Belly

Chicken liver stir fry with string beans, mushrooms and quail eggs

Chicken Liver Stir Fry

Chili Garlic Eggplant

10-minute Chili Garlic Eggplant

Published: August 3, 2020 • Last modified: July 4, 2021 ♥ All Recipes, Chinese, Main Courses, Poultry
Further Reading
Chinese-style fried rice in white ramekin

How To Cook Chinese-style Fried Rice

Fried and skewered quail eggs. Tamsui Old Street, Taiwan

Quail Eggs in Asian Cuisines

Mandarin oranges

Symbolic Food for the Lunar New Year

Sidebar

Experience Asia

Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Saap) Garnished with Chili

Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Saap)

Thai cucumber salad garnished with peanuts and cilantro

Thai Cucumber Salad with Sweet and Tangy Chili Dressing

Japanese sakura rice bowls

Two Reasons to Go Back to Japan

Sam Veneracion making pottery. Bat Trang Village, Vietnam.

The Authentic Bat Trang Ceramic Village Tour and Pottery Class

Thai meatballs in curry sauce

Thai-style Meatballs in Coconut Curry Sauce

  • About
  • Privacy
  • Archive

Inspiration

“A full belly conquers all.”

From the film Saving Face
Popular Posts
  • A Guide To Ramen Broth: Shio, Shoyu, Miso and Tonkotsu
  • 3 Soy Sauce Braised Pork Belly
  • Steamed Pompano With Ginger Sauce
  • Tofu in Oyster Sauce
  • Slow Cooker Chinese-style Beef Tendon
Not So Fine Print

Devour Asia does NOT work with “brands”.

Devour Asia does NOT accept guest posts.

Devour Asia does NOT outsource recipe development, writing, photography and videography.

Except for the occasional stock photo and blockquote, everything © Devour Asia. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.