How to Poach a Chicken

My mother taught me how to poach a chicken when I was in high school. In the summers, I would have nothing to do...she'd call, and suggest for me to make my parents dinner, and since then, I've been in love with the kitchen!

Poached chicken was probably one of the first things I've ever made, and it's easy and delicious. Cooked right, the meat comes out tender and silky, and the stock is flavorful. As many people are concerned about their nutrition intake, take comfort in knowing that poached chicken is low in fat, as you don't add any fats other than what the chicken has itself.

You'll need the following items for making a simple poached chicken:
- a pot big enough for the whole chicken, with a well-fitting lid
- a whole chicken
- salt
- fresh ginger root
- optional: celery, carrots, and a small onion

First, buy yourself a whole chicken. The supermarkets carry many varieties - even organic, free-range chicken, which I personally like best. The meat seems less fatty, and more flavorful than the usual commercial chickens available. Rinse the chicken, inside and out. You may either toss the innards, or keep them to make the stock and toss them out afterwards. As I'm Chinese (and there's an old saying that states that "any creature whose back faces the sky is completely edible!"), we keep some of the innards as a tasty amuse bouche and snack afterwards.

After you have rinsed and pat dry the chicken, sprinkle salton the outsides and insides of the chicken. As the chicken sits atop a platter or in a bowl, awaiting its hot bath, prepare a large soup pot which can fit the entire chicken, and fill it a little more than halfway with water. I usually eyeball it, but if you prefer a number, it's usually about 3 quarts of water. An important note - make sure your soup pot hasa good, well-fitting lid for it!

I love ginger root, and if you do too, use the side of the cleaver to whack about a half inch slice of ginger root into a flat oblivion. My mother always says that adding ginger and its juices to our foods when we cook somehow "kills the germs" - whether we add it into stir fry food or the soup base. The root is generally removed when you're ready to serve everything, as nobody really wants to bite into it! Place the root into the soup pot, and gently lower your chicken into the stock pot. I usually will rotate it so that the breasts are facing up, because the thighs and legs are thicker and submergence into the water prevents them from being undercooked.

I'm a purist, and like my chicken and its stock pretty free of extra things. However, for those that must add a few vegetables into the soup, feel free to add some tender celery sticks, a small onion, and carrot slices at this point.
Crank the heat up to high with the pot uncovered, and wait for the water to come to a full and rolling boil. Once it does, turn off heat, and cover the soup pot with its lid. Let it sit for about an hour before you even dare peek inside! At the end of the hour, remove the chicken carefully from it's flavorful stock, and place it into a shallow dish. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before you cut it up for service.

My favorite way to serve poached chicken is very simple - warm, and fresh from the poaching, with white rice, and a oil-soy sauce base that is seasoned with fresh ginger and green onions. To make this sauce, simply grate approximately 1 Tablespoon of fresh gingerroot into a bowl. Mix this with about 2 sprigs of diced green onions, about 1/4 tsp. of sugar, and a dash of salt. Heat about 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil (I usually use Canola or Peanut Oil) till it's hot, and pour the heated oil on top of the ginger and green onions. Be careful, as there will be some sizzling action going on here! After this, pour about 1 Tablespoon of Light Soy Sauce into the bowl, and you'll have yourself a delicious dipping sauce to serve with your poached chicken. This sauce also accompanies steamed fish very, very well!

A simpler sauce that is easier to make when you lack time to prepare the above sauce is simply to pour 1 to 1.5 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil into a bowl, and to add about 1 Tablespoon of Light Soy Sauce.

If you don't finish the entire chicken, or don't think you can, set aside pieces of the chicken you'd like to use for other things. I tend to save the chicken breast to make plain chicken salad, or curry chicken salad (mix with some curry powder, diced apples, and diced celery!), for my lunch sandwiches. Leftover poached chicken is also great in quesadillas, taco, chicken chili, made into chicken fried rice, cut into strips to make stir-fry noodles, or simply thrown into your ramen noodles for a light lunch. The chicken can even be diced and used with the chicken stock you've created to make some lovely chicken noodle soup! The chicken stock is flavorful, great for any soups, or cooking flavorful rices and creating yummy sauces.

Remember, if you plan on refrigerating your chicken, let it cool to room temperature first before placing it in the refrigerator. Supposedly, this prevents and slows bacterial growth; hot foods wrapped up and placed in such a cool place will steam up inside its wrapping. Condensation will occur, creating moisture which allows for bacteria to grow on.

Enjoy your poached chicken, and all the great dishes that will come from it!