Easy Steamed Chicken With Sand Ginger Powder

1. Use coarse salt and give the chicken a good scrub inside and out.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Pro Tip: Rest your bird on a clean 1L glass milk jar or wine bottle.
5. Cut green onions into 5-inch sections, separating the greens and whites. Ginger julienned or into large 2 to 3-inch slices.
6. 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!
7. Stuff massaged green onions and julienne ginger into the chicken cavity.
8. 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!
9. 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

1. How long does it take to steam chicken? It takes about 30 minutes to steam and cook the chicken thoroughly.
2. 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.
3. Next, steam the chicken until juices run clear for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken.
4. Alternatively, for convenience, I prefer to steam in my Cuisinart steam convection oven for 30 minutes at Super Steam 400F.
5. 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.
6. Let rest and cool down to room temperature.

Chicken Essence Liquid

1. After removing the chicken, pour out the poaching liquid, aka chicken essence liquid, from the steam tray.
2. After being chilled, the chicken fat will congeal and separate from the chicken essence. Remove and discard the chicken fat.
3. 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

1. The ginger is the star of this dipping sauce. Whenever possible, finely dice the ginger by hand. The taste is irreplaceable.
2. However, a food processor is an excellent idea if you are making a big batch or short on time!
3. 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!
4. Add minced ginger, scallions, a teaspoon of salt, chicken essence powder and a spoonful of chicken poaching stock to a small sauce bowl.
5. Heat vegetable oil over low-medium heat in a small saucepan.
6. Pour cooked oil on top of the ginger green onion mixture. Mix well. Set aside.

Sand Ginger Dipping Sauce

1. Fresh sand ginger dipping sauce complements Chinese-style marinated chicken perfectly.
2. Add sand ginger powder, a teaspoon of salt, chicken essence powder, oyster sauce and a spoonful of chicken poaching stock to a small bowl.
3. 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.
4. Pour cooked oil on top of the ginger green onion mixture. Mix well. Set aside.

Assembly

1. Once the steamed chicken has cooled down, you can cut up the whole chicken into chicken pieces.
2. Place the cooked sand ginger marinated chicken on a large serving plate.
3. Spoon some ginger scallion sauce on top of the chicken.
4. 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.