This Chinese Steamed Chicken Breast recipe combines chicken breasts with a flavorful ginger scallion sauce. It's juicy, delicious, and ready in one hour. One of my favorite weeknight meals by far.
Can't get enough of steamed dishes? Try my Chinese Steamed Fish next!
🥡 About This Recipe
Steaming is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken. Not only is it easy, but it is also more gentle than roasting or searing. This is because the temperature of steam maxes out at 212°F (the boiling point of water), so it doesn’t get as hot as other methods. Less energy = less likelihood of overcooking and thus juicier chicken!
I love to serve the chicken with an aromatic ginger-scallion sauce. It's super simple to make and packs a ton of flavor. The recipe is from my mom, who used to make it for me all the time growing up.
For this recipe, I strongly recommend using an instant-read thermometer so you can monitor the temperature of the chicken. You want to pull it out at exactly 150°F. This will leave you with juicy and delicious chicken.
🍗 Tips for Juicy Chicken Breasts
Because chicken breast is very lean, it can easily dry out when cooked. Here are my tips to achieve consistently juicy chicken at home:
- Salt the chicken for at least 40 minutes. The salt helps dissolve a muscle protein called myosin, which prevents the meat from tightening during cooking. This leads to less moisture loss and juicier meat.
- Flip the chicken breasts every 3 minutes. This is so important because, generally, with steamed food, the top cooks much faster than the bottom. By flipping it often, we ensure that both sides cook evenly.
- Pull the chicken out at 150°F. Most people think chicken needs to reach 165°F to be safe, but that's not true. Food safety depends on both time and temperature. If chicken is held at 150°F for at least 3 minutes, it's just as safe as chicken cooked to 165°F. I recommend pulling it out at 150°F and letting it rest for at least 3 minutes before serving. The temperature at the center will actually increase by another 2-3°F while it's resting because of carryover heat.
🧂 Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: If you're using frozen, make sure they're fully defrosted before starting the recipe.
- Ginger and Scallions: These form the aromatic base for the ginger-scallion sauce. You can use the entire scallion or just the whites. Some people prefer just the whites because it makes the scallion flavor stronger, but I don't like wasting food, so I use the whole scallion.
- Oil: Any neutral-flavored oil like canola or vegetable will work.
- Salt: For marinating the breasts and seasoning the ginger-scallion sauce.
- Toasted Sesame Oil: I LOVE the subtle nuttiness that toasted sesame oil adds to the ginger-scallion sauce. Make sure your sesame oil is TOASTED; regular sesame oil doesn't have much flavor.
🔪 Instructions
STEP 1: Apply salt to both sides of the chicken breasts. Let them rest on a plate in the fridge for at least 40 minutes and up to 24 hours. If you are resting for more than one hour, cover the chicken with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.
STEP 2: Heat oil to about 350°F in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and cook for 15 seconds. Add scallions and cook for another 15 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and stir in salt and toasted sesame oil.
STEP 3: Place the chicken in a single layer on a heat-proof dish. Steam on high heat for 12-14 minutes, flipping every 3 minutes. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 150°F.
STEP 4: Remove the chicken from the steamer and let it rest for at least 3 minutes. Cut it into thin slices and spoon over the ginger-scallion sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
👨🏻🍳 Chicken Thighs Variation
My wife prefers chicken thighs over chicken breasts, so sometimes I will use thighs instead. Chicken thighs are more forgiving and have more fat so they will actually taste even juicier. I think they taste better at a slightly higher temperature (165°F), so you can cook them for a little longer.
For bone-in chicken thighs, cook them for at least 25 minutes or until they reach 165°F in the thickest part of the meat. For boneless chicken thighs, cook for 15-20 minutes, and pull them out at 165°F as well.
📋 Recipe
Chinese Steamed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
Chicken breasts
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Ginger scallion sauce
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- ½ cup scallion (thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup ginger (minced)
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Apply salt to both sides of the chicken breasts. Let them rest on a plate in the fridge for at least 40 minutes and up to 24 hours. If you are resting for more than one hour, cover the chicken with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.
- Heat oil to about 350°F in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and cook for 15 seconds. Add scallions and cook for another 15 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and stir in salt and toasted sesame oil.
- Place the chicken in a single layer on a heat-proof dish. Steam on high heat for 12-14 minutes, flipping every 3 minutes. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 150°F.
- Remove the chicken from the steamer and let it rest for at least 3 minutes. Cut it into thin slices and spoon over the ginger-scallion sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Steph
Delicious sauce! I skipped marinating in salt but the chicken was still juicy. Will be making again!
Grump
Thanks Steph, glad it turned out well!
Li
Very good. Like what my sister's in laws make. Not sure if it is noted anywhere but the sauce is normally cooled before eating it. Brings out more flavor. At least that is what they do(they are cantonese) and the Hianese places I've gone to do.
Regardless, I'm very happy you have provided a recipe so I can make some myself.