Chinese Shredded Chicken with Spicy Sauce

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Chinese Shredded Chicken with Spicy Sauce is a popular recipe on social media (Red Note and Tik Tok) for how easy and flavorful the dish is! The combination of tender chicken mixed with scallion oil is so addicting, you’ll be scooping up every last bit with rice.

A bowl of shredded chicken topped with sliced cucumbers, a small bowl of dipping sauce on the side, and another bowl of rice with chicken chunks on top.

🔍 Quick Look:

What is it? This Chinese chicken dish is a popular Red Note recipe that’s loved for its easy preparation and delicious flavor. The chicken is steamed in its own juices and then shredded. The best part is that the chicken is dressed with this super fragrant scallion oil sauce (no marination needed)!
Why you’ll love this recipe: The chicken comes out so tender and juicy thanks to the boil-and-ice-bath method. And the scallion oil sauce is so good, you’ll want to save any leftovers to drizzle over your next bowl of rice.
🕒 Total Cook Time: 50 minutes
🔥 Cook Method: Just boil the chicken and shred when cooled. Make your scallion oil sauce and mix it all together.
👩‍🍳 Flavor Profile: Soft, juicy chicken soaked in a flavorful scallion oil sauce infused with green onions, garlic, ginger and Thai chilies — savory umami, fragrant aromatics, and just the right amount of heat.
⭐ Difficulty: Really simple — boil, shred and mix. The scallion oil takes a few extra minutes but the steps are easy and perfect for beginners.

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What is Chinese Shredded Chicken?

This recipe is inspired by the viral Chinese Steamed Chicken mixed with garlic and spicy sauce on Chinese Social Media (Red Note). The chicken is boiled and put in an ice bath so the meat is tender and soft. This method is commonly used by Chinese people to cook their chicken and makes the chicken extra juicy!

Then, the chicken is mixed with a hot scallion oil that includes Thai chili, green onions, and lots of garlic. The extra hot oil is immediately poured on the aromatics to cook the garlic and onions. Seriously, the sauce is so delicious, you will want to put it on rice, noodles, or even more chicken!

If you’re looking for more tasty and easy chicken dishes like this one, check out my One Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken and Thai Basil Chicken in 30 Minutes—both are flavorful, and super easy to make.

Ingredients

Here’s a look at what you need to make this Chinese Shredded Chicken with Spicy Sauce. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.

Boil Chicken

Chicken drumsticks – or any dark chicken meat works well. This results in the most juicy and tender shredded chicken. If you prefer chicken breast, make sure you don’t cook it for too long so the chicken is not too dry.
Green onion and Ginger is added to boil the chicken to take out any gaminess of the meat.
Shaoxing cooking wine (optional) – this adds sweetness to the chicken and takes out gaminess of the meat. You can substitute with sake or dry sherry. Simply omit this if you don’t have this on hand.

Spicy Sauce

Scallion oil – use a neutral oil with a high cooking temperature like avocado oil. The hot oil will be cooked with green onions and shallots to release aromatic flavor.
Green onion – we need lots of green onions to make the shallot oil and we need thinly sliced green onion for the spicy sauce.
Grated ginger and garlic – since both of these aromatics are super flavorful, we want to make sure they are both grated and we’re not eating chunks of ginger or garlic in our spicy sauce.
Thai red chili, finely chopped (optional) – this is where our spice comes from. One chili is enough for me to add flavor and spice, but add more if you want extra heat!
Soy sauce – low sodium soy sauce is where most of our flavor comes from. You can adjust the saltiness from the soy sauce.
Oyster sauce – adds umami and sweetness to the sauce. This helps add saltiness to the sauce in addition to soy sauce. You can find this at most grocery stores.

Substitutions and Variations

Swap the Chicken Cuts. You can use bone-in thighs, boneless thighs, or even chicken breast—just adjust the cooking time accordingly for thicker cuts. If the chicken has bone, it will take longer to cook so keep checking your chicken with a therometer.
Add more crunch by adding roasted peanuts or bean sprouts. These are traditionally tossed with shredded chicken dishes that help enhance the texture of the dish!
If you’re not a fan of spicy food, just skip the chopped chili or tone it down by using less. You can also swap it with red bell pepper for color and crunch (what my dad likes to do because my mom doesn’t eat spicy food).

How to Make Chinese Shredded Chicken with Spicy Sauce

A pot filled with water, chicken drumsticks, sliced ginger, and green onions simmering together.

Step 1: Boil water on medium heat. Add green onions, slices of ginger and cooking wine (optional). When the water is boiling, add chicken and cook for 20-25 minutes.

A pot with scallion oil, green onions, and chopped purple onions.

Step 2: While the chicken is cooking, make the scallion oil. Add green onions and purple onion to 1 cup of avocado oil. Once added, then turn on the heat to medium and fry for 10-12 minutes.

A pot simmering with scallion oil, chopped green onions, and purple onions.

Step 3: Fry onions while mixing together until they are golden. Make sure the oil is not too hot so you don’t burn the onions. Keep temperature at 285-300F.

Step 4: Once golden, take the onions out of the oil and turn off heat.

Step 5: The chicken should be done after 20-25 minutes, check with a thermometer to see if the chicken is at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Then transfer to ice bath.

Step 6: Shred chicken in small pieces.

Small bowl with scallion oil, green onions, red chili, sesame seeds, grated garlic and ginger.

Step 7: To make the spicy sauce, grate garlic and ginger and place in a bowl. Add sliced green onions, sesame seeds and chopped Thai chili (optional). Heat up the scallion oil until hot and add ½ cup of oil in the bowl until your desired taste. Watch it sizzle. Then, add oyster sauce and soy sauce. Mix together.

Shredded chicken in a metal bowl with garnished chopped cucumbers.

Step 8: Add the spicy sauce in the chicken and mix together. Garnish with sliced cucumber. You can eat right away or place in the fridge for up to one day and eat it cold!

Shredded chicken in a metal bowl topped with chopped cucumbers, with a piece of chicken held by chopsticks.

Expert Tips

Use bone-in chicken for extra flavor. Cooking chicken on the bone gives the dish more flavor and tastes juicier. With chicken breast, the chicken may taste more dry.
When making the sauce, make sure you reheat the scallion oil until the oil is very hot (see a little smoke coming out). That way, the hot oil will cook the scallions and garlic.
If you have leftover sauce, don’t throw it away! Add the sauce on noodles, rice or make more chicken to go with the sauce!

Recipe FAQs

Can I use other proteins instead of chicken?

Definitely. This spicy sauce also pairs well with tofu or shrimp. Keep in mind the cooking times will vary based on the protein you’re using.

How long does it keep in the fridge?

It will stay good for up to 1 day in an airtight container in the fridge. You can eat it cold or just reheat gently. Enjoy the shredded chicken with some rice or noodles.

What should I serve this with?

Steamed rice is the perfect match for this Chinese style steamed chicken—it soaks up all that flavorful sauce! You can also pair it with simple sautéed greens like Stir Fried Chinese Green Beans, PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry or a side of Carrot Ribbon Salad for balance.

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5 from 1 vote