One of my favourite ways to cook a chicken is to poach it. It stays deliciously moist and the meat seems to go much further. This recipe is super easy and the actual cooking part is very fast. It is a great recipe to experiment with, changing up the poaching liquid flavours to suit your tastes. This dish is based on a BBC Good Food Magazine recipe. It has the Asian flavours that I love and crave. They make me feel as though I’m eating an ultra nourishing, immune busting meal. Best of all it reminds me of eating Chicken Rice, a dish that I’ll always associate with my time living in Singapore!
Ingredients:
1 x medium chicken (about 1.5kg) 6 x spring onions, cut in half 6” piece fresh root ginger, sliced 4 x whole, peeled garlic cloves 1 x Star Anise 1 x cinnamon stick 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ground Szechuan Pepper (or freshly ground black pepper) 1 Tbsp sweet Miso paste (I use gluten free Clearspring) 800ml Chicken Stock 4 Tbsp Tamari sauce (or Soy sauce) 3 x cardamom pods, bashed 1 x heaped tsp Five Spice 2 x dried Birds Eye chillis - optional Small packet coriander, stalks chopped from the leaves, (save leaves to garnish) Hoisin sauce to serve - optional
Place the chicken in a large saucepan, (with a lid). It needs to be big enough to take the rest of the ingredients, so that the liquid just covers the chicken. Mix the Miso paste in with the stock, add the turmeric. Add everything else, along with the stock mix into the saucepan, making sure that the chicken is just covered. Add some extra water if needs be to ensure coverage. Bring to the boil, removing any scum that rises to the surface (you only need to do this once). Turn the heat down and simmer, with the lid on, for a further 25 mins. Turn off the heat and leave it to carry on poaching in the hot broth, until it has cooled. I like to leave it for at least 1.45/ 2 hours. Once rested sufficiently, remove the chicken. Strain the broth. Reheat the broth for about 20 mins, until it has reduced a little. Taste and season accordingly. Carve the chicken (it should fall off the bone), and pour over as much of the broth as you want; you can eat soupy or have it drier, as you like. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves. Serve with whole grain rice or buckwheat (Soba) noodles, with some Hoisin sauce on the side. I added rice, edamame beans and tender stem broccoli to my soupy mix to make it a complete meal :)