michelle picker cooks

Classic Chinese comfort food. Velvety soft poached chicken served with a ginger and spring onion (scallion) sauce and chilli oil.

Place the chicken in a saucepan with a little space around it and cover it with cold water. Add a few slices of ginger and slowly bring to a simmer. When the water simmers, turn off the heat and turn the chicken over. Let it sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. Now repeat the process and once again turn off the heat and wait 15 minutes. A medium chicken should be cooked by now. If you have a very small chicken reduce the time to 10 minutes between simmering. If your chicken is very large you can repeat the process a third time. You can check whether your chicken is cooked by piercing a thick part of the chicken and seeing if the juices run clear. If you have a thermometer the internal temperature should be 75ºC (165°F). The chicken is usually eaten cooled and chopped into pieces with a cleaver. However you decide to serve it, leave it in the water until just before serving – this will ensure the chicken is moist and tender. When you’re ready to serve brush the chicken with a little sesame oil. As the chicken is unsalted I serve mine with a nice salty chilli oil. You can make your own or buy one – my favourite is the popular Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli Oil. To make the ginger and spring onion sauce shred or grate 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger and finely chop 2-3 spring onions. Combine them in a heat proof bowl and add ½ a teaspoon of salt. In a small saucepan heat ⅓ of a cup of vegetable oil until hot. Pour it over the ginger mixture and stir to mix.