What Is White Cut Chicken? 白切鸡 Explained

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Guangdong · Main dish

White Cut Chicken

白切鸡

bái qiē jī

Gently poached chicken prized for its tender texture, clean flavor and fragrant dipping sauce.

Cantonese white cut chicken
Photo: Sjschen · CC BY-SA 3.0
FromGuangdong
Eating occasionLunch or dinner
Dish typeMain dish
FlavorClean · Tender · Savory

01

What is White Cut Chicken?

Gently poached chicken prized for its tender texture, clean flavor and fragrant dipping sauce.

02

Flavor profile

Clean · Tender · Savory

Gently poached chicken prized for its tender texture, clean flavor and fragrant dipping sauce.

03

Key ingredients

Whole chicken, ginger, scallions, salt and a ginger-scallion oil or soy-based dipping sauce.

This is a food guide, not a recipe. Ingredients and preparation vary between cooks, shops and cities.

04

How it is usually made

The chicken is gently poached and rested so it remains juicy, then chopped bone-in and served near room temperature.

05

Origin and food culture

White-cut chicken is a longstanding Cantonese preparation and also belongs to a wider family of southern Chinese poached-chicken dishes.

The pale appearance is intentional: gentle cooking, careful resting and bone-in chopping emphasize the chicken’s texture and flavor, usually with ginger-scallion or other regional dipping sauces.