When I lived in Chicago, I would frequent the restaurants in Chinatown at least once every other week. Chi Café was one of the restaurants I ordered from fairly often (other than Joy Yee’s). Whenever I made the trip to Chi Café, I always ordered beef chow fun and hand shredded chicken. Beef chow fun is one of my favorite Chinese noodle dishes. It may be my second favorite dish just after Yang Chow fried rice. Other than those two dishes, hand shredded chicken (手撕雞) is a third dish I often order to round out my meal. Hand shredded chicken isn’t the prettiest dish, but it is very good. There are many variations of hand shredded chicken depending on which restaurant you order from. The version I enjoy consists of shredded pieces of both white and dark meat chicken, seasoned with the Chinese trinity of scallions, garlic, and ginger, and mixed with sesame oil. When I moved to Ohio, I started making my own version. In addition to the usual ingredients found in the dish, I also like to add chicken bouillon powder, white pepper powder, and a dash of kosher salt to enhance the overall flavor of the dish. Yesterday, when I went grocery shopping, I picked up a whole chicken. I had planned to make hand shredded chicken this weekend. Instead of tossing away the carcass after I cut out the breasts, legs, and wings, I saved the carcass to make a chicken stock. I let the chicken come to room temperature in the sink an hour before I started cutting and cooking the chicken. The dish does take some patience, but the effort is well worth it once you’re done. Throughout the entire cooking process, the aromas of the flavors filled our home. Eating the chicken brought back memories of the days I spent tasting my way through the wonderful restaurants in Chicago’s Chinatown.
Hand Shredded Chicken
· 2 cups ice cubes
· 5 cups water
· ½-inch piece fresh ginger
· 3 garlic cloves, crushed
· 3 stalks scallions, cut into large pieces
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 2 chicken legs
· 2 chicken wings
· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
· 1 teaspoon sesame oil
· ½-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
· 3 garlic cloves, minced
· 3 stalks scallions, finely chopped
· 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
1) In a large bowl, add the ice cubes. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2) Heat a large pot on medium heat. Add the water, ginger, garlic, scallions, and salt into the pot. Let the water come to a boil. Once the water starts to boil, add the chicken legs and wings. Cook until the legs and wings are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Skim off any foam that collects at the top of the pot. When the chicken legs and wings are done cooking, remove the bowl with the ice cubes from the refrigerator. Place the chicken pieces in the bowl of ice. Let chicken sit for 10 minutes before shredding.
3) Once the chicken has cooled, shred the chicken meat into a large bowl. Set aside.
4) Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and sesame oil. Once the skillet is hot, add the minced ginger, garlic, and scallions to the pan. Let the aromas of the ginger, garlic, and scallions cook until aromatic, about 30 second. Add the shredded chicken, bouillon powder, and white pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the aromas are infused into the shredded chicken. Season the shredded chicken with kosher salt.
Takeaways: The shredded chicken is delicious on its own, but can be served with a side of jasmine rice, or simple sesame noodles. The versions I’ve had in the past had more sesame oil than my version. If you prefer the strong aroma of sesame oil, feel free to double the amount and reduce some of the vegetable oil. I like to serve my shredded chicken with some soy sauce and Chiu Chow chili oil.