White Cooking
White Cooking
White cooking is a typical Cantonese technique to cook a whole fowl or fish by immersing it in a pot of boiling water. The heat is then turned off, and the pot is covered for exactly the right duration. White in Chinese means “plain.” The liquid in which the food is cooked is usually plain water; colorless and unseasoned except for the addition of a few slices of gingerroot as a freshener. In white cooking a chicken, usually the neck, back, bones, and giblets are put back into the plain liquid, which is then simmered into a clear flavorful stock for soups for use in white cooking yet another chicken. Very often white cooking is done in clear broth for added flavor.
White cooking differs from poaching in that the hot water is not heated continuously during the immersion. The Cantonese may also poach a fowl but seldom a fish. White cooked fish tasted tender and fresh, just like steamed fish, and is easier to do.