Kou Shui Ji

Kou Shui Ji — 'saliva chicken', named for the mouth-watering effect of its appearance alone — is a Sichuan cold dish of gently poached chicken sliced and blanketed in a vivid, complex sauce of chili oil, sesame paste, black vinegar, and Sichuan peppercorn. It is a masterclass in Sichuan flavour balance: numbing, hot, sour, sweet, salty, and fragrant all at once, and a beloved room-temperature banquet dish.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg / 3.3 lb) or 4 bone-in chicken thighs
• 4cm piece ginger, sliced
• 3 spring onions, knotted
• 2 tbsp (30ml) Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tsp salt

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp (45ml) homemade or good-quality Sichuan chili oil (with sediment)
• 1.5 tbsp (22ml) light soy sauce
• 1.5 tbsp (22ml) Chinkiang black vinegar
• 1 tbsp (15ml) sesame paste or tahini
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorn
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

To garnish: roasted peanuts, sliced spring onion greens, fresh coriander leaves, cucumber batons

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ginger, knotted spring onions, Shaoxing wine, and salt. Gently lower in the whole chicken breast-side up.
2. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to a bare simmer. Poach for 22-25 minutes (or 18 minutes for thighs) until just cooked through — the juices should run clear. Do not overcook.
3. Transfer immediately to a bowl of iced water and submerge for 10 minutes — this stops cooking and gives the skin a silky, jiggly texture. Drain and pat dry.
4. Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a bowl until smooth and emulsified.
5. Chop the chilled chicken through the bone into 2cm (3/4-inch) pieces, or pull the thigh meat and slice. Arrange on a serving platter with cucumber batons.
6. Spoon the sauce generously over the chicken. Scatter with peanuts, spring onion greens, and coriander.
7. Serve at room temperature as a starter or cold dish.

Cook's Notes: The iced water bath is the single most important step — it gives Kou Shui Ji its silky, bouncy skin and prevents the meat from drying out. The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated.