A white porcelain bowl holds broad, overlapping slices of pale tender chicken in glossy red chili oil pooling below, topped with crushed peanuts, white sesame and chopped scallion, with wooden chopsticks resting on the rim.
The regional cooking of Sichuan and Chongqing, known for its wide range of flavour types.
Kou shui ji is a Sichuan cold dish in which steamed or poached chicken is cooled, cut into pieces and dressed with a sauce of chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame paste and Sichuan pepper, then topped with peanuts, sesame and scallion. The name is linked to the writer Guo Moruo's memory of Sichuan white-cut chicken in a March 2019 Hong Kong article and a July 2021 report; the former points to his Hong Bo Qu. The original book and dated texts for the dish or its name were not found, so this entry gives no year of origin.
What
Kou shui ji is a cold chicken dish: the chicken is steamed or poached, cooled and cut into pieces, dressed in a red-oil sauce that is numbing, hot, sour, sweet and savory, and topped with peanuts, sesame and scallion.1,2,4,5,6
When
The name is linked to Guo Moruo's memory of Sichuan white-cut chicken in two articles, neither giving a year. Earlier names meant hot-numbing chicken and pepper-numbing chicken, as noted in a 2019 Hong Kong article. The account of today's version being reworked in Chongqing in the late 1980s rests mainly on one 2026 book. These are retellings; no dated original text was found.1,2,3
Where
Sichuan. A folk story links the name to Leshan, while today's version is linked to Chongqing; the available articles give no settled place of origin.1,2,3
How
The chicken is steamed or gently poached until done, cooled, boned and cut into pieces; a sauce of chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame paste, ground Sichuan pepper and other seasonings is poured over it. Some versions also include the steaming or poaching juices in the sauce.4,5,6
Why
The name evokes the mouth watering at the thought of the dish. This explanation appears in a 2019 Hong Kong article and a 2021 report; the former links it to Guo Moruo's memory.2,3
Impact and influence
No intangible heritage or time-honored-brand listing was found for the dish. Several English-language recipes carry it, translating the name as saliva chicken or mouth-watering chicken, and one classes it as a Sichuan appetizer served at room temperature.4,5,6
It is said that the writer Guo Moruo recalled the white-cut chicken he ate in his Sichuan youth and wrote that his mouth still watered at the thought. Readers found the phrase so vivid that the dish took the name.
Told in: A tale from food writing, told in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong article of March 2019 and in a military-publication report reposted by The Paper in July 2021; the two quote the line in different words and the original book was not found, so just the gist is given.
The Tale of the Leshan Old Man and His Black Chickens
Legend has it that in the mid-Qing an old man in Leshan raised black chickens and ate them boiled with dipping seasonings. A cook in the household of the Jiazhou prefect tasted it and was won over, and the prefect's wife ate two big bowls of rice with it. The old man's daughter joked that this was “mouth-water chicken.”
Told in: A Leshan folk tale, told in the military-publication report that The Paper reposted in July 2021; no dated text backs it.
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is my home version of kou shui ji with steamed chicken legs. I followed three published recipes, some steaming legs and one poaching a whole chicken and chilling it in cold water; I chose the simpler way, steaming legs, so there is no ice bath. The amounts are my own choices at home, and I use ready-made chili oil.
Ingredients
Bone-in chicken legs 2 (about 500 g in all)
Ginger, for steaming 3 slices
Scallion, for steaming 1, cut into short pieces
Cooking wine, for steaming 15 ml
Salt, for steaming 1/2 teaspoon (about 3 g)
Steaming juices, taken after steaming 45 ml
Light soy sauce, for the sauce 20 ml
Black vinegar, for the sauce 15 ml
Sugar, for the sauce 1 teaspoon (about 4 g)
Sesame paste, for the sauce 2 teaspoons (about 10 g)
Garlic, for the sauce 1 clove, minced
Ground Sichuan pepper, for the sauce 1/2 teaspoon (about 1 g)
Sesame oil, for the sauce 1 teaspoon (about 5 ml)
Chili oil, with some of the chili flakes 60 ml
Cooked peanuts 20 g, lightly crushed
Toasted white sesame seeds 1 teaspoon
Chopped scallion from 1 scallion
Steps
Rub the chicken legs with the salt and wine, put the ginger and scallion on a plate, and set the legs on top. Steam over boiling water with the lid on for 25 to 30 minutes. Cut open a thick part near the bone: it is done when no pink is left and the juices run clear.
Take the legs out, pour the juices from the plate into a bowl and skim off the fat. Let the legs cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
Make the sauce: loosen the sesame paste with the 45 ml of juices, then stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, ground Sichuan pepper and sesame oil, and lastly the chili oil.
Bone the legs, cut the meat into pieces about 2 cm wide, arrange them on a plate and pour the sauce over.
Sprinkle on the peanuts, sesame seeds and scallion, and toss everything together just before eating.
Tips
The chili flakes sink to the bottom of the oil, so I always stir it again before pouring; this is my own habit.
If someone at home does not eat much heat, I cut the chili oil to half and leave the other seasonings as they are.
