Foolproof Poached Chicken with Ginger Shallot Sauce

1. This method works for chicken breast up to 300g/10 oz. If you use a 300g/10 oz chicken breast, you must take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, per the recipe. 250g/8oz chicken cooks just fine straight out of the fridge but I always take it out of the fridge early out of habit.

If using frozen chicken, it must be fully thawed before using.

2. This recipe works consistently every time because the chicken starts off in boiling water which is 100C/212F no matter which country, what stove, and what pot you're using! Chicken cooks at around 65C/150F, so while the boiled water is at or above this temperature, the chicken is cooking. Once it falls below, the chicken stops cooking and thus prevents the breast from overcooking, yielding a guaranteed perfectly cooked juicy chicken breast every single time!

3. Cook time: A 250g/8.5oz chicken breast will be done at 20 minutes, for a 300g/10oz one, I leave it for 25 to 30 minutes. Up to 45 minutes, and I still do not notice any loss of juiciness in the breast. Around 1 hour, I notice that it is slightly less juicy - but still way juicier than the usual methods of poaching!

4. High altitude locations: The higher above sea level you are, the lower the boiling point of water. This means that if you are located in a high altitude area, the recipe needs to be amended to boil for longer before taking it off the stove, to ensure the chicken cooks through. I intend to do some research on this and will update this note when I find out more - or if any readers leave definitive information about this!

5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings and the all the ginger sauce is consumed which it probably will not be because a little bit goes a long way! The oil in the sauce accounts for 150 calories of the total calories shown below.