Poached chicken with ginger-scallion sauce
35 min · 42 g protein · 367 cals / serving
Chicken breast poached gently in gingery broth until it is unusually juicy, sliced over a little jasmine rice and garlicky bok choy with cool cucumber on the side, and spooned with the Cantonese sauce everyone ends up eating with a spoon: fresh ginger and scallions, sizzled with a little hot oil and sharpened with soy and rice vinegar. Clean, fragrant and gentle.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 small breasts (11 oz) chicken breast
- 3 thin slices ginger
- a big pinch salt
To serve
- 3 tbsp jasmine rice, rinsed
Ginger-scallion sauce
- 2 tbsp ginger, very finely grated or minced
- 4 green onions, very thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, or tamari
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
To serve
- 1/2 large cucumber, thinly sliced
- a few sprigs fresh cilantro
Steps
- Put the chicken in a small pot, cover it by 1 inch with cold water (or chicken broth, for even more flavour), and add 3 slices of ginger and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, turn off the heat and leave 15–20 minutes, until the thickest part reads 165°F; if it is not at 165°F yet, return the pot to the lowest heat for a few minutes. Lift it out and rest 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile cook the rice according to the packet.
- Put the ginger, green onion and salt in a heatproof bowl. Heat the oil in a small pan until it just smokes, pour it over (it will sizzle), then stir in the soy sauce and vinegar.
- Ladle 1/2 cup of the hot poaching liquid into a skillet with the garlic, add the bok choy, cover and steam 2–3 minutes, until the stems are just tender.
- Slice the chicken across the grain. Plate it with the rice, bok choy and cool cucumber slices, spoon the sauce over the chicken and add the cilantro.
Good to know
Why turn the heat off?
Poaching in water that is only just below a simmer cooks breast meat evenly without squeezing it dry. A thermometer takes the guessing out: pull it at 165°F.
Can I make the sauce ahead?
Yes, it keeps 5 days in the fridge and gets better. It is also good on eggs, fish and plain rice.
A gentler plate?
Use half the ginger in the sauce, and serve the rice soft and a little wetter. The poached chicken slices are tender enough to eat cold the next day.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 72
- Protein
- (48%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (28%)
- 5 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 193 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 734 kcal goes into the pot and 1071 g of ingredients comes out as about 1020 g of food: 72 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.