Guanxi Steam Chicken

My grandmother loves steaming chicken for dinner. She would often steam a whole chicken, serve half for dinner and freeze the other half for another night. It's one of my favourite dishes as it is so clean and healthy. On the 2nd day of CNY, we usually start our morning with a full meal- signifying full and prosperous start to the new year. Chicken is definitely a feature.


Once again, I am not back in Singapore to enjoy the festiveness this year. I miss the preparation, the food, and seeing my extended family.


When I spotted Celine with her version of Guanxi Style Steam Chicken and of course I read it on Wendy's blog before, I knew I just have to give it a go. I tweaked it as I am used to following my grandmother method of steaming chicken. I chose to focus on how Wendy make the sauce for the chicken.

The Nam sauce added another dimension and depth to a simple steam chicken. The sauce is light and tasty. It lingers in your mouth and the gravy is perfect with a bowl of steam rice (or if you are in the mood- make a pot of chicken rice flavoured with the essence of chicken and pandan).

The other thing I did was that I couldn't bear to part with all the sweet essence of the chicken after it has been steamed. So I actually combined the sauce with the juices and reduce amount of oil. I chose to serve the chicken with the sauce and rubbed my hands with glee looking at how the chicken absorb the flavours of the sauce.

I chose chicken thighs- boned in instead of a full chicken. I didn't want to do any chopping (But i really should do it one day...).

I'm submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

Guanxi Steam Chicken
1.5 kg of chicken or used boned in chicken thighs. Celine used deboned chicken drumsticks.
around 1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoon of Shan Xing Wine
1 tsp of sesame oil

Nam sauce
1 small bunch of chinese chives- probably around 100 grams I used
1 big knob of ginger chopped finely
3-4 tablespoon of oil
5 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Spring onion chopped

Steam chicken- prepare steamer with some water.

Meanwhile, rub chicken with salt and wine all over. Steam over heat for around 30-40 mins depending on the size of the chicken. I kept the cover on for another 5-10 mins. Make sure juices run clear. Sprinkle sesame oil on it.

To make the sauce, chopped chives. Dry fry ginger and place it into a heatproof bowl. Place 2/3 of the chives in the same bowl.

Then heat oil till very hot. Place chives into the hot oil (pays to have the chives really dry first!). Pour the hot oil into the heatproof oil. Season with sesame oil and soy.

Plate chicken. Combine juices with the sauces. Pour it all over chicken. Sprinkle spring onion over it. Eat!