Kou shui ji (口水鸡, literally 'saliva chicken' or 'mouth-watering chicken') is a cold Sichuan dish of poached chicken sliced and dressed in a complex sauce of chilli oil, sesame paste, Sichuan peppercorn, light soy, dark soy, Chinkiang vinegar, and sugar, finished with peanuts, sesame seeds, and fresh coriander. It is one of the definitive expressions of Sichuan cold dish (liang cai 凉菜) cooking — the technique of building complex flavour on a simply cooked base. The name reportedly originates from Chengdu writer Li Jieren who described the dish as capable of making one's mouth water at the mere thought of it.
The poaching technique: Submerge a whole chicken (or bone-in pieces) in a large pot of cold water with ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, and scallion. Bring to a near-boil, reduce heat immediately to a bare simmer (water surface barely trembling). Poach 20-25 minutes per 1kg of chicken. The correct doneness: juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced. Immediately plunge the cooked chicken into ice water — this arrests the cooking, tightens the skin, and produces the smooth, silky skin texture essential to kou shui ji. The sauce: 3 tbsp chilli oil (with sediment), 1 tbsp sesame paste, 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn (toasted and ground), 2 tbsp light soy, 1 tbsp dark soy, 1 tsp Chinkiang vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil. Whisk together. The sauce should be pourable but thick enough to coat the chicken without running off immediately. Serving: Slice the chicken on the bone (Chinese restaurant style — 2cm pieces through the bone) or debone for home service. Arrange on a platter. Pour the sauce over. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds, sliced scallion, and fresh coriander.
Over-poaching the chicken: The key to the silky texture is a gentle poach and an immediate ice bath — overcooked chicken is dry and fibrous. Making the sauce in advance without tasting: The sauce must be balanced — taste and adjust the soy-vinegar-sugar ratio before pouring.
Fuchsia Dunlop, The Food of Sichuan (2019); Fuchsia Dunlop, Every Grain of Rice (2012)