Poached Chicken Chinese Style

This is what I normally do with a whole chicken besides roasting them.  This is how the chicken is poached for chinese chicken rice . We called this dish ' Pak Cheet Gai ' in cantonese ( literally translated as white cut chicken  ) .  The soup after poaching the chicken can be used freezed up as chicken broth for later use or you can add in carrots and potato to make a carrot soup to serve with this ' Pak Cheet Gai '.  The wonderful dip sauce to go with this poached chicken is the ginger and onion sauce. Actually , this sauce is the main attraction for this dish :)

Poached Chicken Chinese Style  -recipe source: by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover)

Ingredient:

1.6kg free-range chicken
Few slices of ginger
2 sprig of spring onions
1tsp salt (i use fine sea salt)
1 and 1/2tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Stuff ginger and spring onion inside the cavity of chicken.

2. Boil a large pot of water over high heat ( use a pot that is large enough to fit a whole chicken)

3. Slowly place the chicken ( breast side down ) into boiling water, boiling water become simmer.

4. Once water boil again, reduce heat to the lowest.

5. Cover the lid and let chicken simmer in hot water. While cooking half way (abt 10 mins) flip the chicken breast side up, cover and continue simmer.

6. Cook for 16 mins (depend on the size of chicken or when you see chicken become light and float on top).

7. Switch off the fire, over the lid and let chicken continue to simmer in hot watr for another 10 mins, flip the chicken breast side up, cover and continue simmer.

8. Mix salt and sesame oil in a mixing bowl. Remove chicken from hot water, use a brush to evenly brush salt mixture on the whole body of chicken.

9. Let it cool in room temperature for several hours (5-6 hours) before cutting into small pieces.

Ginger and Onion Dip Sauce

Ingredients

ginger and shallots ratio of 1:1

a stalk of spring onion - cut finely

salt to taste

oil enough to cover the ground ginger and shallots

Method:

Blend together ginger and shallots in a food processor until fine texture.  Take out and mix in the cut spring onions in a bowl.  Add in enough sea salt and stir till well combined. Leave aside.

Heat oil till  smoking hot, add to the bowl of ginger mixture. It should sizzles. The sizzlings will bring out the aroma of ginger mixture.  This is what make the sauce good to go with the poached chicken.

Yummy !

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