Drunken chicken (Zui Ji / 醉鸡) is a Shanghainese cold appetizer of poached chicken steeped in a marinade built on Shaoxing rice wine, served chilled so the wine and aromatics soak deep into the meat. It is cool, silky, savory, and faintly boozy — a bright, elegant way to open a meal before the hot dishes arrive. Despite the name, it will not get you drunk; the wine is a flavor, not a shot.
First-time diners often walk past the cold plates on the way to soup dumplings. Drunken chicken is the one that makes them stop and ask what it is.
What Is Drunken Chicken?
Zui Ji is part of the family of Chinese "drunken" dishes, where seafood or poultry is cured in rice wine. In the Shanghainese version, chicken is gently poached until just cooked and still tender, then submerged in a marinade of Shaoxing wine, a little broth, ginger, scallion, and salt. It rests in the cold for hours — often overnight — so the wine works its way into the meat. It is served cold, cut into pieces, sometimes set in a light savory jelly.
How It Is Made
- Poach gently. The chicken is cooked at a low temperature so it stays juicy, never rubbery.
- Cool it fast. An ice bath tightens the skin and keeps the meat silky.
- Steep in wine. The pieces rest in a Shaoxing-wine marinade with ginger and scallion, chilled, until the flavor penetrates.
- Serve cold. Cut and plated straight from the fridge, so it arrives cool and fragrant.
The Shaoxing wine is the whole point. It is the same amber rice wine that gives red-braised pork and soup dumpling filling their fragrance, here used cold and up front instead of cooked in.
How to Eat It
Drunken chicken is a shared cold plate, meant for the start of the meal. Eat it chilled — do not let it warm to room temperature, which dulls the wine. It pairs beautifully with other Shanghai cold appetizers: smoked fish for sweetness, cucumber salad for crunch. Together they set the table's opening note before the hot dishes land.
Where to Try It
At Shanghai Taste in Rockville, MD, cold appetizers open the menu the way they open a Shanghai meal. Look for drunken chicken among the cold plates on our full menu, and read What Is Shanghainese Cuisine? for more on the flavors behind Shanghai cooking.
Sources and Further Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What is drunken chicken (Zui Ji)?
Drunken chicken (Zui Ji / 醉鸡) is a Shanghainese cold appetizer of poached chicken steeped in a marinade built on Shaoxing rice wine, then served chilled. It is cool, silky, savory, and faintly boozy. Despite the name, it will not get you drunk — the wine is a flavor, not a shot.
How is drunken chicken made?
The chicken is gently poached until just cooked and still tender, cooled quickly in an ice bath to tighten the skin, then submerged in a marinade of Shaoxing wine, broth, ginger, scallion, and salt. It rests chilled — often overnight — so the wine and aromatics soak deep into the meat, and it is served cold, cut into pieces.
How do you eat drunken chicken?
Drunken chicken is a shared cold plate served at the start of a meal. Eat it chilled rather than letting it warm to room temperature, which dulls the wine. It pairs well with other Shanghai cold appetizers such as smoked fish and smashed cucumber salad.