Easy Steamed Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder 蒸沙薑雞

蒸沙薑雞 Easy Steamed Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder with green onions and minced ginger dipping sauce is a succulent chicken dish bursting with flavour! This simple way to prepare a whole chicken in Chinese cuisine is incredibly aromatic, tender and moist.

> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For The Best Hong Kong-Style Poached Chicken with Sand Ginger

Fans of Chinese chicken like White Cut Chicken (白切雞, báiqiējī) or poultry with salt-baked chicken seasoning will enjoy this classic savoury chicken recipe with sand ginger powder! This easy recipe is incredibly juicy, and the flavours are distinct. Find this popular dish at most Chinese restaurants! 

Check out this quick story summary of our recipe!

Jump to:

• > In This Post: Everything You'll Need For The Best Hong Kong-Style Poached Chicken with Sand Ginger
• What is Sand Ginger Powder?
• Ingredients and Substitutes
• Sand Ginger Dipping Sauce
• Instructions
• What To Serve With Steamed Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder 沙薑雞
• > Recipe Card
• Easy Steamed Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder 蒸沙薑雞

What is Sand Ginger Powder?

Sang Ginger Powder (沙薑粉, ShājiāngFěn) is a popular aromatic ginger spice used in Asian cuisines, typically used in marinades or rubs for cooking chickens. This powder is also great for dipping sauces with chicken essence powder, green onion, fresh ginger and hot oil.

What is Sang Ginger Powder made of?

Sand Ginger is part of the ginger family of Kaempferia galangal. The rhizome is dried and has an intense peppery taste. It is more potent than white pepper. Sand ginger powder is a slightly paler hue than yellow than regular ginger powder. Sand Ginger enhances the aroma and fragrance and brightens the umami flavour profile of food.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Sand Ginger Chicken

Whole Chicken - choose a high-quality chicken. I prefer fresh Asian specialty free-range chicken like Loong Kong Chicken over frozen chicken whenever possible. Opt for chicken cuts if you want to cook only part of the chicken - dark meat (chicken thighs), and chicken legs (drumsticks), are also delicious for making Sand Ginger Chicken. For a healthier option, you can use skinless chicken breast. However, there will be less rendered chicken fat from the chicken skin, and the meat will be less juicy and tender. 

Sand Ginger Powder - Sand Ginger's peppery notes are perfect for oriental chicken recipes. This spice's typical applications include marinade, rubbing, and dipping sauces. Sand Ginger Powder is available at your Chinese Grocery Store and Asian Supermarkets. Do not confuse "sand ginger powder" with "ginger powder." They are not the same. You can substitute galangal or ginger powder, but the flavour will differ.

Ground Black Pepper - A dash of black pepper powder adds a lovely boost of fragrance to the chicken.

Brown Sugar - A little sugar keeps the flavour profile well balanced. 

Chicken Essence Powder -  this seasoning blend helps elevate the flavour of any dish. 

Kosher Salt - A dash of salt to taste.

Coarse Salt - Add a generous amount of salt to a large mixing bowl filled with cold water. Clean and wash the entire chicken, starting with the surface of the chicken, parts of the chicken, and inside the chicken cavity. This salt bath is excellent for cleaning and removing the refrigerator smell. 

Fresh Ginger - Ginger is used throughout this recipe to steam the Sand Ginger chicken and dipping sauces.

Fresh Green Onions - Green scallions are used throughout this recipe to poach the steamed chicken with ground sand ginger and dipping sauces. Green Onions Stalks build depth of flavour and for stuffing chicken cavity.

Shaoxing Wine - A dash of salt to taste. Massage a dash of Shaoxing Wine to the green onions and ginger before stuffing the chicken cavity for a boost in aroma!

Vegetable Oil - Used to heat up and simmer wet aromatics. 

Ginger Scallion Dipping Sauce

Hainanese Chicken fans will be no strangers to this delightful Ginger Scallion Sauce. It is so delicious that you would want a double batch of this!

Fresh Ginger - The ginger is the star of this dipping sauce. Whenever possible, finely dice the ginger by hand. The taste is irreplaceable. However, a food processor is an excellent idea if you are making a big batch or short on time!

Alternatively, if you do not want to hand chop all the simple ingredients, you can also use a good-quality food processor. Here are my picks for the Best Food Processors!

Kosher Salt - To taste

Green Onions - finely chopped green onions are the perfect companion in this Ginger Scallion Sauce. 

Sometimes, I make one batch of ginger dipping sauce with green onions and one batch of pure, finely diced ginger oil sauce.

Cooked Vegetable Oil - Heat the vegetable oil to the ginger scallion sauce mixture before adding it. 

Chicken Au Jus - Add a spoonful of chicken au jus and oil rendered from steaming into the dipping sauce to add depth to the dipping sauce.

Chicken Essence Powder -  this seasoning blend helps elevate the flavour of any dish. 

Sand Ginger Dipping Sauce

Sand Ginger Powder - This zesty aromatic ginger powder is bright-flavoured and perfect for dipping sauce for pairing with freshly steamed chicken.

Cooked Vegetable Oil - Heat the vegetable oil before adding it to the sand ginger sauce mixture. 

Chicken Au Jus - Add a spoonful of chicken au jus and oil rendered from steaming into the dipping sauce to add depth to the dipping sauce.

Chicken Essence Powder -  this seasoning blend helps elevate the flavour of any dish. 

Sesame Oil - A dash of sesame oil adds a subtle, well-balanced nuttiness and enhances marinades.

Ground Black Pepper

Kosher Salt

You can purchase most dry goods ingredients, tools and supplies at your local Asian grocery stores or online at my Amazon Store. I have linked the products for your convenience!

Instructions

By far, steaming is the easiest method to make Authentic Steamed Sand Ginger Chicken whole chicken! This crowd-favourite Cantonese chicken recipe is deliciously succulent, tender and bursts with pure chicken flavour!

Although there are a few steps in the cooking process, I guarantee you will nail making the juiciest chicken ever if you follow our step-by-step instructions!

Easy Steamed Chicken With Sand Ginger Powder

Use coarse salt and give the chicken a good scrub inside and out. 

Wash, trim, and dry the fresh chicken with kitchen paper towels. Ensure the inners, especially the lungs, are removed. Otherwise, the chicken will remain bloody and uncooked.

Generously add sand ginger powder, kosher salt and brown sugar to the surface of the chicken. Let air dry for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature.

Pro Tip: Rest your bird on a clean 1L glass milk jar or wine bottle.

Cut green onions into 5-inch sections, separating the greens and whites. Ginger julienned or into large 2 to 3-inch slices. 

In a small mixing bowl, add ginger slices and green onion stalks. Massage a dash of the green onions and ginger before stuffing the chicken cavity for a boost in aroma! 

Stuff massaged green onions and julienne ginger into the chicken cavity. 

Adding the stuffings to the chicken will enhance the flavours. Like cooking Salt Baked Chicken, I love adding Chinese sausages inside, too. I highly recommend it!

Line the steaming tray with green spring onion and ginger. If you are hosting, you can use the not-so-pretty ones for stuffing and save the pretty ones for garnishing. 

How to Steam a Chicken

How long does it take to steam chicken? It takes about 30 minutes to steam and cook the chicken thoroughly.

The traditional way to steam a chicken is by placing a trivet rack in the wok to raise the steaming tray and bring water to a boil on high heat. 

Next, steam the chicken until juices run clear for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. You will notice the meat and skin around the bones will shrink.

Alternatively, for convenience, I prefer to steam in my Cuisinart steam convection oven for 30 minutes at Super Steam 400F.

Insert an instant-read thermometer at the thickest part of the chicken and check that the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165F.

 Let rest and cool down to room temperature. 

Chicken Essence Liquid

After removing the chicken, pour out the poaching liquid, aka chicken essence liquid, from the steam tray. 

After being chilled, the chicken fat will congeal and separate from the chicken essence. Remove and discard the chicken fat.

Store the chicken essence in a small, airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Add a spoonful to your noodles and stir-fries for a boost of umami!

Ginger Scallion Sauce

I love fresh ginger in this raw ginger green onion oil. This classic Cantonese dipping sauce epitomizes natural flavours in Chinese cooking. 

This minced ginger sauce is so addictive! It goes perfectly with poached chicken. But I love to add this to everything! 

The ginger is the star of this dipping sauce. Whenever possible, finely dice the ginger by hand. The taste is irreplaceable. 

However, a food processor is an excellent idea if you are making a big batch or short on time!

Alternatively, if you do not want to hand chop all the simple ingredients, you can also use a good-quality food processor. Here are my picks for the Best Food Processors!

Add minced ginger, scallions, a teaspoon of salt, chicken essence powder and a spoonful of chicken poaching stock to a small sauce bowl.

Heat vegetable oil over low-medium heat in a small saucepan.

Pour cooked oil on top of the ginger green onion mixture. Mix well. Set aside.

Sand Ginger Dipping Sauce

Fresh sand ginger dipping sauce complements Chinese-style marinated chicken perfectly. 

Add sand ginger powder, a teaspoon of salt, chicken essence powder, oyster sauce and a spoonful of chicken poaching stock to a small bowl.

Heat vegetable oil over low-medium heat in a small saucepan. Test if the oil is hot with a dry wooden spoon or chopsticks. Tiny bubbles should form around the utensils once hot.

Pour cooked oil on top of the ginger green onion mixture. Mix well. Set aside.

Assembly 

Once the steamed chicken has cooled down, you can cut up the whole chicken into chicken pieces.

Place the cooked sand ginger marinated chicken on a large serving plate.

Spoon some ginger scallion sauce on top of the chicken.

Serve this tender, juicy chicken with white jasmine rice garnished with fresh cilantro and spoonfuls of finely chopped green onions and ginger sauce. Serve with Sand Ginger Dipping Sauce on the side.

How To Meal Prep

You can store Poached Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

You can work Sand Ginger Chicken efficiently into your family meal prep ideas for the week. Simply double batch this recipe with the chicken, marinade rub into vacuum-sealed bags and place them into the freezer.

Sous-vided safe vacuum-sealed bags filled with marinated chicken can be defrosted to be steamed or directly cooked in the sous vide machine.

It is so easy you do not even need to rely on an Asian meal prep delivery service for takeout!

What To Serve With Steamed Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder 沙薑雞

This great recipe is delicious umami-rich comfort food in Chinese cooking. It is perfect as a make-ahead-of-time meal prep dish. Enjoy this flavourful chicken alone, as a one-pot meal, and even as a shredded chicken side dish meal prepped for the week! 

Complete the meal with the following delicious dishes.

• Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts and Chives 爆炒豆芽菜韭菜
• Fish Maw Crab Meat Soup 蟹肉魚肚羹 (鱼膘羹)
• Instant Pot Braised Chinese Mushrooms 髮菜炆冬菇食譜
• Microwave Soy Sauce Chicken Wings 豉油雞翅微波爐
• Chinese Tomato Egg Stir-fry 番茄炒蛋

Other Chinese Chicken Recipes We Love

• Sous Vide Hainanese Chicken Rice 海南雞飯
• Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞
• Sichuan Mala Mouth Water Chicken 四川麻辣口水雞
• Steamed Sand Ginger Chicken Shredded

After eating lots of heavy, rich, and deep-fried foods, a great way to reduce heat is with a bowl of this liver-detoxing Chinese Sweet Mung Bean Soup 綠豆沙 or Hawthorn Goji Berry Tea Digestion Tea 山楂杞子茶 that aids digestion.

I'd love to see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.

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