Destination
Singapore
The story
Soya sauce chicken (see yau kai) is Singapore's Cantonese-style braised chicken and one of the country's most photogenic hawker plates: a whole chicken slow-poached in a master stock of dark soy sauce, rock sugar, star anise, cinnamon, ginger and Shaoxing wine, until the skin is a deep mahogany brown and the flesh is silky and infused with the aromatic soy. Chopped Cantonese-style (through the bone with a heavy cleaver) and served over jasmine rice with a spoon of the reduced master stock, ginger-scallion oil and a slice of cucumber. Hawker Chan in Chinatown's Chinatown Complex was the first hawker to win a Michelin star (2016) for exactly this dish, priced at S$2 a plate.
Method
Combine all master stock ingredients in a large deep pot (big enough to just fit the whole chicken). Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low heat and cook 30 minutes to develop the flavours. Taste — should be deeply savoury, mildly sweet and aromatic.
Rinse and pat dry the whole chicken. Rub the fine salt inside the cavity. Truss the legs together with kitchen string so the chicken keeps its shape.
Lower the chicken breast-down into the simmering master stock. It should be just covered (top up with water if needed). Bring back to a bare simmer.
Reduce heat to the lowest setting. Poach at 80C for 40 minutes. Do not boil. Every 10 minutes, ladle master stock over any exposed part of the chicken so the whole surface stays coloured.
Turn off the heat. Let the chicken rest in the hot stock for another 15 to 20 minutes. This finishes cooking gently and deepens the mahogany colour.
Lift the chicken carefully onto a plate (it's fragile). Brush the skin with 3 tbsp of the master stock while still warm for a final glossy glaze.
In a small heatproof bowl, combine ginger, scallion and salt. Heat 60ml oil until just smoking; pour over. Meanwhile, strain 300ml of the master stock into a small saucepan and reduce by half over medium heat until glossy and slightly syrupy — this is the sauce to spoon over each plate.
Chop the chicken with a heavy cleaver, Cantonese-style, through the bone into serving pieces. Arrange over jasmine rice on individual plates. Spoon reduced master stock over the chicken. Add cucumber slices on the side, a scatter of coriander and spring onion. Serve with ginger-scallion oil and chili sauce in small dishes.
Tips
- Bare simmer, never boil. 80C is the target. Boiling toughens the flesh and clouds the master stock.
- Baste the exposed skin. Any part of the chicken above the stock line won't colour without basting. Ladle stock over every 10 minutes.
- Rest in the stock. The 15-minute rest finishes the gentle cook and deepens the skin colour to mahogany.
- Save the master stock. Strain and refrigerate (up to a week) or freeze. Reuse for the next batch — the flavour deepens with every use. Chinese chefs treat master stocks like family heirlooms.
- Chop, don't slice. Cantonese-style through-the-bone chopping keeps the shape and lets the juices run onto the rice. A boning-knife slice loses the classical presentation.
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