Whenever you want to eat light, I will advise you to try to make poached chicken for lunch or dinner. Poached chicken can be used in various recipes from salads to sandwiches. And it’s easy to store until the moment you are ready to use them.

Even though it’s a cooking technique that required precision regarding the doneness of the chicken, making poached chicken is simple and quick. The liquid in which the chicken is poached is one of the most important elements of the recipe. Therefore it’s important to make a broth infused with a lot of flavors. That’s why for this recipe, I decided to make shiitake mushroom broth with Asian flavors. Disclaimer, since I like spicy food, I went heavy handed on the hot pepper and didn’t remove the seeds. However, if you don’t like your food to be too spicy, it’s ok to remove the seeds.

Poached chicken with Shiitake mushroom broth

Poached chicken with Shiitake mushroom broth and crispy chicken skin

Poached chicken with Shiitake mushroom broth

Prep: 50 min                        Cook: 15 min                       6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

2 Chicken breasts, preferably with the bone

5 cups of Water, preferably hot

300 g of Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

¼ cup of soy sauce

3 tablespoons of Teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon of Honey (optional)

¼ cup of fresh Ginger, roughly chopped

1 onion, finely minced

2 Spring onions, cut in half

3 cloves of Garlic, minced

1 Thai red hot pepper, sliced

Salt

Pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. If your chicken breasts came with bone, debone them and reserve the bone for the broth.

2. In a large pot, heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes with the chicken bones, then add ginger, red hot pepper, spring onions and shiitake mushrooms. Stir.

3. Add soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, stir. Pour 5 cups of boiling water in the pot. Add salt and pepper. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Be sure to taste your broth in order to adjust the seasoning. If you find your broth too spicy, add honey for some balance.

4. Place the chicken breasts in the pot, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes (or more depending on the size of the chicken). Make sure to skim foam from the surface while the chicken is poaching. Once the chicken breasts reached 165° F (74° C) on an instant-read thermometer, they are fully cooked.

5. Removed the chicken from the pot and let it rest on a cutting board until it’s time to serve.

6. In the mean time, remove the shiitake mushroom from the poaching liquid and reserve them before draining the broth.

7. Cut the chicken breasts in thin or medium size slices depending on your preference. Place the shiitake mushrooms on the bottom of your serving plate then the slices of chicken. Pour the broth on top of the chicken and mushrooms.

Garnish with green onions and/or fresh coriander. And it’s time to eat and enjoy.

Tips:

If you want to add some crunchiness, serve with crispy chicken skin. This is the easy way to make crispy chicken skin: first preheat over at 375° F. Tap the skin with towel paper. Then add salt and pepper. Place the skin between two baking trays lined with parchment paper. Place the trays in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and the skin will be crispy.

I use hot water instead of cool water because using cool water will have the effect to cool down the temperature of the pot and consequently increase the cooking time. Whereas hot water helps the pot to maintain a constant temperature.

I used fresh shiitake mushrooms but they can be replaced with dried ones. Just follow the cooking instructions.