Kou Shui Ji (口水鸡) — Mouth-Watering Chicken: Sichuan Cold Dish

Ingredients

• For the poach
• 1 (about 1.5 kg) whole chicken, or bone-in pieces of equivalent weight
• 4 slices fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, whole
• 2 stalks scallion, whole
• For the ice bath
• 1 kg ice, enough to fill a large bowl
• For the sauce
• 3 tbsp chilli oil, with sediment
• 1 tbsp sesame paste
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn, toasted and ground
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinkiang vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• To garnish
• 30 g roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 2 stalks scallion, finely sliced
• 1 small bunch fresh coriander, leaves picked

Method

1. 1
   Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the ginger slices, whole Sichuan peppercorns, and scallion stalks. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a near-boil. The water is ready to proceed when the surface shows the first strong tremor and fine bubbles rise from the base.
2. 2
   Immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting. The water surface must barely tremble — a bare simmer, not a rolling boil. Poach for 20–25 minutes per kilogram of chicken. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: a boil at any point will seize the muscle fibres and produce dry, fibrous meat; the gentle, restrained heat alone delivers the silky skin and yielding flesh that define kou shui ji.
3. 3
   Pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer or fine knife. The chicken is done when the juices run completely clear with no trace of pink.
4. 4
   Lift the chicken immediately and plunge it into a large bowl of ice water. Hold it submerged until fully cold, at least 15 minutes. The skin will visibly tighten and take on a smooth, slightly translucent appearance — the defining textural quality of the dish.
5. 5
   While the chicken chills, whisk together in a bowl: the chilli oil with its sediment, sesame paste, ground Sichuan peppercorn, light soy, dark soy, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. Taste and adjust the soy-vinegar-sugar balance before proceeding. The sauce is ready when it is pourable yet thick enough that a spoon drawn through it leaves a momentary channel.
6. 6
   Remove the chicken from the ice bath and drain. Chop through the bone into 2 cm pieces in the Chinese restaurant manner, or debone entirely for home service. Arrange on a flat platter.
7. 7
   Pour the sauce evenly over the arranged chicken. Scatter over the crushed peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallion, and coriander leaves. Serve at room temperature. The sauce should coat each piece and pool lightly at the base of the platter — not run off, not congeal.