Zui ji (醉鸡, literally drunk chicken) is a cold Jiangnan dish in which poached chicken — typically whole legs or a whole chicken — is submerged in Shaoxing rice wine (绍兴黄酒) and aromatics, then refrigerated for 24-48 hours, during which the wine permeates the meat, imparting its distinctive amber colour, nutty-savoury flavour, and a gentle alcoholic lift. The result is a chicken with a delicately wine-scented flesh that is simultaneously savoury and sweet, with the complex depth of aged Shaoxing wine. It is served cold, sliced, and is typically part of a cold dish (liang cai) selection.
The poaching: Poach a whole chicken (or 4 whole chicken legs) in barely simmering water with ginger and scallion until just cooked through (approximately 20 minutes per kg). Immediately plunge into ice water and cool completely. Remove the meat from the bones (or keep bone-in for presentation). The drunken marinade: 200ml Shaoxing rice wine (use a good quality aged version — the 5-year Shaoxing is commonly used), 100ml rich chicken stock (from the poaching liquid), 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 slices ginger. If a sweeter result is preferred, add 1 tbsp wolfberries (goji berries). The marination: Place the cooled chicken in the marinade. The marinade should submerge the chicken completely. Refrigerate 24-48 hours. The minimum is 24 hours — 48 hours is preferable for a deeper wine penetration. Serving: Serve cold, sliced, drizzled with the strained marinade liquid.
Using cooking wine rather than drinking-quality Shaoxing wine: Cooking wine has added salt and lacks the complex fermented depth of drinking-quality Shaoxing. Insufficient marination time: 24 hours produces a faint wine note; the full drunken character requires 48 hours.
Fuchsia Dunlop, Land of Fish and Rice (2016); Fuchsia Dunlop, Every Grain of Rice (2012)