Foolproof Poached Chicken with Ginger Shallot Sauce
A foolproof method for poaching chicken breast with guaranteed juicy chicken every single time. Served with a Ginger Shallot (Scallion) Sauce that is so good, you will want to put it on everything! Also accompanied with a quick chilli sauce (optional). This is like a (much) faster, healthier midweek version of the famous Hainanese Chicken & Rice. Also see cooking video below recipe - don't miss the Dozer cameo at the end! HIGH ALTITUDE locations - please see note 4
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 3-4
Calories: 381cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
2chicken breasts, boneless skinless, 250g/8.5 oz each (Note 1)
Ginger Shallot Sauce
3 - 4shallots / scallions, green and white part thinly sliced (1 heaped cup)
2tbspfinely grated ginger
1/4tspsalt
5tbspvegetable oil(or peanut or grapeseed oil)
Quick Chilli Sauce
1tbspchilli paste
1tbspSriracha
1tspsoy sauce
1tspsugar
1garlic clove
1tspgrated ginger
Instructions
Chicken
Take chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
Fill a saucepan with water so the chicken breast will be well submerged with at least 2" / 5cm of water above it.
Bring water to boil. Place chicken breast in water, place lid on, bring back up to the boil. Remove saucepan from stove and set aside for 20 minutes (it's fine up to 45 min, won't overcook).
Remove chicken from water and slice. Serve with Sauces (below) and rice.
Ginger Shallot Sauce
Combine and mix ingredients in a bowl. Set side for 20 minutes. It will sweat and become more liquidy.
Chilli Sauce
Mix ingredients in a bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Notes
1. This method works for chicken breast up to 300g/10 oz. If you use a 300g/10 oz chicken breast, you must take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, per the recipe. 250g/8oz chicken cooks just fine straight out of the fridge but I always take it out of the fridge early out of habit.If using frozen chicken, it must be fully thawed before using.2. This recipe works consistently every time because the chicken starts off in boiling water which is 100C/212F no matter which country, what stove, and what pot you're using! Chicken cooks at around 65C/150F, so while the boiled water is at or above this temperature, the chicken is cooking. Once it falls below, the chicken stops cooking and thus prevents the breast from overcooking, yielding a guaranteed perfectly cooked juicy chicken breast every single time!3. Cook time: A 250g/8.5oz chicken breast will be done at 20 minutes, for a 300g/10oz one, I leave it for 25 to 30 minutes. Up to 45 minutes, and I still do not notice any loss of juiciness in the breast. Around 1 hour, I notice that it is slightly less juicy - but still way juicier than the usual methods of poaching!4. High altitude locations: The higher above sea level you are, the lower the boiling point of water. This means that if you are located in a high altitude area, the recipe needs to be amended to boil for longer before taking it off the stove, to ensure the chicken cooks through. I intend to do some research on this and will update this note when I find out more - or if any readers leave definitive information about this!5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings and the all the ginger sauce is consumed which it probably will not be because a little bit goes a long way! The oil in the sauce accounts for 150 calories of the total calories shown below.