Easy White Cut Chicken Breast with Ginger Scallion Sauce (no poaching)

Tender, moist white cut chicken breast served with ginger scallion sauce – this is a quick and healthy meal for one or the family. With minimal prep and active cook time, it’s a great emergency dinner to have in your back pocket!

I’ll be honest, this steamed chicken breast isn’t really exciting. Not by itself anyway. The only thing really going for it is the moist tender texture because it’s pretty neutral in flavour. Pair it with ginger scallion sauce though, then TA-DA it’s like Serena transforming into Sailor Moon (side note: huge fan! LOVED watching Sailor Moon after school). This chicken NEEDS to be eaten with ginger scallion sauce because it’s a pure blank canvas for it. I wouldn’t recommend eating this chicken on its own. Check out my ginger scallion sauce you can pull together in 5 minutes or less.

Chinese White Cut Chicken (a.k.a Bai Qie Ji)

This is steamed chicken breast recipe is my quick hack to traditional Cantonese white cut chicken (a.k.a. bai qie ji) which I had as a kid every Sunday night for dinner. My mom would gently poach a whole chicken in water which always took over an hour to complete. The resulting meat was always sooo tender and my mom would transform the poaching water into a wonderful broth served with dinner. It’s such a staple Chinese dish to enjoy on any regular dinner night and on special occasions like Chinese New Year.

For me, the simplicity and healthy qualities of white cut chicken is what I love about it, on the flip side poaching it and taking an hour to complete…mmm don’t love so much. I usually reserve doing that when I have my Cantonese family over and I want to flex my improved traditional cooking chops! Otherwise, I will choose to do my steam hack version any day of the week.

Made with 5 Simple Ingredients

Chicken breast is simply salted overnight, seasoned with sesame oil and white pepper and then steamed to perfection. It’s so simple to make that it’s a great homemade meal when you’re in a rush!

Chicken Breast

White cut chicken usually involves the whole bird (head, feet and all) but I personally always loved the breast the most. It’s the most tender, no bones and since it’s the leanest part, it serves to highlight the ginger scallion sauce the best. I also never found poached chicken very appetizing as a left over, so this way I can choose my favorite cut and make just enough for the meal.

Salt

Because we’re steaming the chicken pretty much on its own, salting it the day before will allow you to salt from within and produce a juicer piece of meat. Because of the simplicity of this chicken, the salt plays a very important role. I highly recommend it! However, if you’re pressed for time, salting it right before steaming isn’t a deal breaker. The saltiness will stay on the surface but the act of steaming will ensure the meat is still tender. The ginger scallion sauce will more than make up for it!

Grapeseed Oil

Because we’re using boneless and skinless chicken breast, a little oil will coat the chicken while steaming. If you decide to steam chicken breast with skin on, then the oil isn’t needed.

Sesame Oil and White Pepper

For a bit of flavour and aromatics!

What if I Don’t Have a Steamer?

No problem! You can use a pot with a trivet placed at the bottom. My family never had a steamer either and we steamed all our food this way. Fill the bottom of the pot with water until just below the trivet. Put the dish in making sure the water line doesn’t touch the bottom of your dish. Turn the heat on high and wait for the water to come to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 13-15 minutes. Check half way through cooking that there is still water in the pot and it hasn’t all evaporated. Lift the dish gently out of the pot using a dish towel.