Scallion Ginger Poached Chicken (With Soup!)
This Scallion Ginger Poached Chicken recipe tastes just like Singapore’s hawker center chicken rice! This week, I’m making this recipe as part of a 7 person chicken feast. Tender chicken thighs poached gently in broth, topped with fragrant ginger scallion oil and sweet-savory kai dong scallion shallot sauce mix. It’s clean and simple, but so, so good. The best part, you can be making a FULL MEAL with soup in one recipe!
Tender Scallion Poached Chicken Just Like Singapore
Today we have 7 people coming for dinner. I’m going to be cooking all chicken dishes because that is actually the crowd’s top favorite protein. Our chicken feast including a Thai inspired Chili Lime Chicken that I made last week that is such a hit. I’m also making Yuzu Cucumber Salad, Shallot Garlic Bok Choy, and more side dishes are easy to prep ahead, especially before big dinners like this.
Since we just came back from Singapore, I also had to make this Hainanese-Singaporean inspired Scallion Poached Chicken, also called 海南雞 or 白切雞. It’s somewhat of a cross between Taiwanese and the Singapore version, with a kai dong Scallion Shallot Sauce and some ginger scallion oil. It’s going to be really yummy on top of chicken rice using the Hainanese Chicken Rice Seasoning pack I got in Singapore. I’m so glad I did, because it tasted just like the chicken rice in Singapore’s Hawker Centers that we just visited!
Scallion Poached Chicken Ingredients
Poached Chicken
- 8 chicken thighs skin-on, deboned but keep the bones!
- Bones from the chicken thighs
- 3 green onions cut into large pieces
- 5 garlic cloves smashed
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
- 5 cups hot chicken stock 1.2 L
- 1 tsp sesame oil for brushing
Ginger Scallion Oil
- 3 Stalks green onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp neutral oil heated until shimmering
Kai Dong Shallot Sauce
- 1½ tbsp Four Season Scallion Sauce
- 1 tbsp Golden Shallot Oil
- 1½ tbsp Chicken Stock
Deboning Chicken Thighs
Today, I’m making all boneless chicken thigh recipes, so we’re going to be deboning a ton of chicken thighs. I personally like to buy bone-in chicken thighs in bulk from Costco. For this recipe, you’ll be missing a ton of flavors without those thigh bones in the broth pot, and chicken skin on the meat. So, I always recommend just buying bone-in, skin-on thighs, and deboning yourself. Plus, doing it at home saves you so much money and time.
I’ve been getting so many questions on how I debone my chicken at home. Using a carving knife, I will carefully trace around the bones. Next, I’ll flip it to the side and gently remove the bones. It might feel tricky at first, but with some practice, it actually takes less than 20 seconds per thigh to debone.
Poaching Chicken
We are poaching or sometimes called blanching, our chicken thighs rather than grilling or frying, which dries up the meat. This might look bland, but trust me, this slow poach method makes the chicken super tender, clean tasting, and savory.
To poach the chicken, line the pot with leftover chicken bones, because no waste here! Layer chicken thighs skin side facing up. Add in green onion, garlic, ginger, white pepper, and soy sauce. Pour in HOT chicken stock to help tighten the skin and keep the chicken extra juicy, then just let it simmer. Once cooked, brush the chicken thigh with sesame oil and cut into bite sized pieces.
Ginger Scallion oil
What’s more iconic with poached chicken than that classic Ginger Scallion Oil? Fragrant, and just slightly spicy from ginger, this gentle ginger scallion oil adds a ton of flavor without overpowering the delicate flavors of the poached chicken.
This ginger scallion oil is super super easy to make at home, because all you have to do is pour heated neutral oil over green onion, grated ginger, and salt. The moment the oil touches the aromatics, it smells AMAZING. Make sure to use a heatproof bowl because that oil can get REALLY hot.
Shallot Scallion kai dong Sauce
Of course, for Singaporean-inspired Poached Chicken, you can’t miss the sweet-savory sauce. Whenever you order chicken at the hawker center, the uncle will always drizzle a little sauce right before serving. This sauce is usually a mix of chicken fat, poaching broth, soy sauce, and maybe a little shallot oil and sugar.
This is actually a great way to use kai dong sauces! For this sauce, we combine Four Season Scallion Sauce and Golden Shallot Oil with a splash of the poached chicken stock. It gets that perfect amount of savory-sweet with shallot aroma that makes tender chicken so addicting.
How To Make Easy Poached Chicken
- Build the Base:
Add the chicken thigh bones to a large pot and layer the deboned chicken thighs on top, skin-side up. Add green onion, garlic, ginger, white pepper, and soy sauce. - Poach the Chicken:
Pour in hot chicken stock. This helps tighten the skin and lock in moisture. Bring to a gentle simmer (not a rapid boil) and cook for 12–15 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. - Finish the Broth:
Once cooked, remove the chicken thighs and brush each with a thin layer of sesame oil for shine and flavor.
Optional: Leave the bones in the pot and continue simmering for 10–15 minutes to extract even more flavor. - Make the Ginger Scallion Oil:
In a heatproof bowl, combine chopped green onion, grated ginger, and salt. Carefully pour hot oil over the aromatics. it should sizzle right away, releasing that fragrant aroma. Stir and set aside. - Mix the kai dong Sauce: In another bowl, combine Four Season Scallion Sauce, Golden Shallot Oil, and chicken stock. Stir until well mixed and glossy.
- Assemble & Serve: Slice the poached chicken and spoon over the kai dong shallot sauce, then drizzle the ginger-scallion oil on top for the perfect finishing touch.
More Recipes Using Leftover Broth
After poaching the chicken, don’t let the leftover broth go to waste! There’s so much delicious chicken flavors melted into that clear broth. The easiest way to enjoy this broth is to make it into soups! Remove the bones and aromatic, and add your favorite veggies and proteins like napa cabbage and meatballs.
You can also use this broth as normal chicken broth in any other recipe. Since you’ve cooked extra chicken and bones in this broth, it will be much more flavorful than the store-bought kind. Use the broth to cook your rice and make it extra umami-packed. Here’s a few recipes that would be extra good using this leftover broth!
Scallion Ginger Poached Chicken (With Soup!)
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
Poached Chicken
- 8 chicken thighs skin-on, deboned but keep the bones!
- Bones from the chicken thighs
- 3 green onions cut into large pieces
- 5 garlic cloves smashed
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
- 5 cups hot chicken stock 1.2 L
- 1 tsp sesame oil for brushing
Ginger Scallion Oil
- 3 Stalks green onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp neutral oil heated until shimmering
Kai Dong Shallot Sauce
- 1½ tbsp Four Season Scallion Sauce
- 1 tbsp Golden Shallot Oil
- 1½ tbsp Chicken Stock
Instructions
- Build the Base: Add the chicken thigh bones to a large pot and layer the deboned chicken thighs on top, skin-side up. Add green onion, garlic, ginger, white pepper, and soy sauce.
- Poach the Chicken: Pour in hot chicken stock. This helps tighten the skin and lock in moisture. Bring to a gentle simmer (not a rapid boil) and cook for 12–15 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Finish the Broth: Once cooked, remove the chicken thighs and brush each with a thin layer of sesame oil for shine and flavor. Optional: Leave the bones in the pot and continue simmering for 10–15 minutes to extract even more flavor.
- Make the Ginger Scallion Oil: In a heatproof bowl, combine chopped green onion, grated ginger, and salt. Carefully pour hot oil over the aromatics. it should sizzle right away, releasing that fragrant aroma. Stir and set aside.
- Mix the kai dong shallot sauce: In another bowl, combine Four Season Scallion Sauce, Golden Shallot Oil, and chicken stock. Stir until well mixed and glossy.
- Assemble & Serve: Slice the poached chicken and spoon over the kai dong shallot sauce, then drizzle the ginger-scallion oil on top for the perfect finishing touch.
this looks delicious! I went to purchase the Kai Dong products and unfortunately, they closed down last month in April of 2026. Do you have any (healthy) alternatives? Thanks so much! I’m loving your recipes!