Soy-poached chicken is the most cooked dish in Colin’s house, even though his family hate it, but only because he makes it so often. It’s his go-to meal when he wants something light but still full of flavour.
The key is packing tons of flavour into the stock for the chicken to marinate in. With so much flavour, the stock can become the basis for the next time you cook this dish. The end result is a melt-in-the-mouth chicken that’s perfectly cooked and delicious served with steamed rice.
Ingredients
Method
Scrape coriander roots and stems. Reserve leaves for garnish. In a large stockpot, combine water, coriander roots and stems, garlic, ginger, onion, lime leaves, lemongrass, soy, vinegar and chilli. Bring to a simmer on high. Season with extra soy or vinegar to taste.
With a small knife, make 2 incisions between Maryland and breast, puncturing skin. Submerge chicken in stockpot. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, simmer for 20 minutes. Cover pot with a lid. Turn off heat and allow chicken to finish cooking for 2 hours.
For Lemongrass rice, put washed rice in a microwave-proof container with a lid. Add enough water to cover rice up to first knuckle of your finger. Add lemongrass, ginger and lime leaves. Cover with lid and microwave on HIGH for 10 minutes.
Remove from microwave. Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork. Return to microwave without lid. Cook on HIGH for 4 minutes. Remove. Fluff rice again with a fork.
Just before serving, remove chicken from liquid. De-joint Marylands and remove wings. Cut breast through bone into three.
Serve warm chicken on rice with extra chilli, reserved coriander leaves, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, bean sprouts and lime wedges.