Cantonese style poached chicken is a delicious dish with very simple ingredients. And my favorite part of this dish is that it can prepare you for a meal for the next day!
This no-fuss recipe is bound to be a healthy and loved meal for the whole family.
Having a whole chicken or fish steamed, roasted, fried, poached on the table was always a staple in my family growing up. The only problem with a whole chicken for the family is that there's only 2 pieces of everything. So unlucky for our parents, my sister and I always had dibs on the drumsticks and wings.
And as I've gotten older and now have a family of my own, I've started to realize one of my biggest annoyances about making a whole chicken is the chopping process! Having good knives is such an important tool to have in the kitchen and it will save yourself so much frustration.
I used Paudin's 7" Cleaver. What I like about this cleaver is that it has a comfortable wooden grip, a nice weight to it and is made of high-carbon steel.
Cooking Tips
Even Cooking. To ensure your chicken cooks evenly. Leave it out at room temperature for about 10 minutes. After the water begins to boil again with the chicken in the pot, remove the chicken carefully and let the water drip out of the cavity and resubmerge. This helps with the even cooking process but is not necessary.
Don't discard the water! Once your chicken is finished boiling don't discard the water, it makes for a delicious base stock for soup the next day! Or you can freeze it the next day.
4-6 Servings, Approx. 1 hour and 15 minutes
What You'll Need
For the Chicken
3-4 lb Whole Chicken, room temperature
3 Scallions, halved
3-4" Ginger, sliced into ½" chunks
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
For the Sauce
2 Scallions, finely minced
2-3" Ginger, finely minced
¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil
¼ Cup Soy Sauce
All You Need To Do
Prepare your chicken. Add enough water to a pot that fits your whole chicken. NOTE: To avoid spillage while the pot is on the stove. add your chicken legs first into the empty pot first and fill it with water (it's ok if the breast isn't fully submerged). Remove the chicken carefully so not to splatter and set the chicken aside.
Add half of your scallion and ginger into the cavity of the chicken and
Add the rest of your scallion and ginger to the pot and bring your water to a boil.
Lower your chicken carefully into the pot, legs first. Bring it to a boil once again.
Once the water is boiling, lower the temperature to low and cover the pot.
Cook for 40-45 minutes depending on the size of your chicken.
Use a meat thermometer or poke a chopstick into the thigh to check if the chicken is fully cooked. The liquid will run clear out of the hole you poked with your chopstick if it is done.
Prepare a large ice bath for your chicken.
Once your chicken is done, carefully lift your chicken out of the pot and into the ice bath. Make sure that all of the water is drained out of the cavity before placing in bath. Allow the chicken to cool for about 5 minutes.
Remove the chicken and pat it dry.
Brush the Sesame oil all over the chicken. Note: If you want a little more flavor to your chicken, you can mix some salt in with your sesame oil and brush it on. I prefer the saltiness to come from the Ginger Scallion Sauce.
Prepare your sauce. Mix your scallions soy sauce in a heat resistant bowl.
In a small sauce pan or wok, heat up your oil over medium-high heat until the oil is hot.
Add ginger to the oil carefully (it will splatter) for about 10 seconds
Pour the oil over your scallions and mix until combined.
Cut your chicken with a sharp clever like Paudin Cleaver and serve with dipping sauce on the side.
Serve with rice.
Enjoy!
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