This is the only way to make poached chicken breast that guarantees it comes out perfectly cooked and ridiculously juicy, every single time! No fancy kitchen gadgets required.
The chicken is so juicy, you can eat it plain with no sauce, I swear. But because I love sauces so much, I’m serving this perfect poached chicken breast with a classic Ginger Shallot (Scallion) Sauce. So good, you will want to put it on everything!
Every since I discovered this genius way to poach chicken breast well over a decade ago, I have never used any other method. In fact, I barely consider this cooking. Well of course, the chicken is cooked. But this technique to poach chicken can barely be considered cooking.
Because this is all you do: Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Plonk in chicken breast. Bring the water back up to the boil, plonk the lid on, then remove the saucepan from the stove. Let it stand for 20 – 45 minutes (seriously, there’s a big window!). And hey presto! A chicken breast that is so perfectly cooked and so crazy juicy, you will not believe your eyes!
Every time I make this, I always have a twinge of self doubt, worried that when I cut into the chicken it won’t be cooked through. And every single time, I worry for no reason. Because it always works. Always. Every single time. I have never had a fail – ever.
This is truly a foolproof recipe. And the simple reason is this: in every country, in every kitchen, on every stove, in every pot, the boiling point of water is 100C / 212F*. Because that is the key to this recipe: by simply leaving chicken breast submerged in boiling water and removing the saucepan from the stove, the chicken cooks in the residual heat but the falling water temperature is such that it does not allow the chicken to overcook.
It is bizarrely hard to take a photo that truly captures the juiciness of this chicken, but you can definitely see it in the video (below the recipe). You can literally see the glisten of juice on each slice as I slice it with my Baby Hands.
* Except at high altitudes, see recipe notes about this.
I mentioned earlier that this perfect poached chicken breast is so juicy, you can eat it plain. Honestly, try it. You won’t believe me until you try it for yourself.
In fact, it’s so juicy you can even eat it cold, straight out of the refrigerator. Yes, I put myself through the paces to really test out this recipe for you!! 😉
However, as good as the perfect poached chicken breast is, I couldn’t resist serving it up with a sauce. For today, I chose a Ginger Shallot Sauce. Aka Ginger Scallion Sauce, to the Americans reading this. ❤️ Or Ginger Spring Onion Sauce.
I am not actually sure of the real original of this sauce. It is basically the sauce used for Hainanese Chicken – in fact, this whole recipe I’m sharing today is like a simpler, much faster version of Hainanese Chicken (minus the rice). This sauce is also similar to David Chang’s recipe which I use in his Momfuku Marinated Beef Skirt Steak Ssam recipe that I shared in my early days.
Do not be fooled by the short ingredient list. This Ginger Shallot Sauce packs a serious flavour punch and is so good, you will want to put it on everything. Long after the chicken is gone, you will be dolloping it on the rice.
In fact, you know what? It’s 5.52pm on Monday right now. And 2 seconds after I hit publish, I’m making this for dinner for about the 3rd time in the last week. It’s that easy, that fast and that good! – Nagi x
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Foolproof Poached Chicken with Ginger Shallot Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts , boneless skinless, 250g/8.5 oz each (Note 1)
Ginger Shallot Sauce
- 3 – 4 shallots / scallions , green and white part thinly sliced (1 heaped cup)
- 2 tbsp finely grated ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil (or peanut or grapeseed oil)
Quick Chilli Sauce
- 1 tbsp chilli paste
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp grated ginger
Instructions
Chicken
- Take chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
- Fill a saucepan with water so the chicken breast will be well submerged with at least 2″ / 5cm of water above it.
- Bring water to boil. Place chicken breast in water, place lid on, bring back up to the boil. Remove saucepan from stove and set aside for 20 minutes (it’s fine up to 45 min, won’t overcook).
- Remove chicken from water and slice. Serve with Sauces (below) and rice.
Ginger Shallot Sauce
- Combine and mix ingredients in a bowl. Set side for 20 minutes. It will sweat and become more liquidy.
Chilli Sauce
- Mix ingredients in a bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Cooking video! So you can see for yourself how insanely juicy this perfect poached chicken breast really is!
LIFE OF DOZER
Looking thoroughly unimpressed with my offering of a teeny tiny scrap of broccolini stem…..Only because I ran out of leftover chicken after multiple takes which you’ll see at the end of the cooking video!!
The recipe was a great answer to some leftover chicken I had. It’s simple and very fresh and the chicken was juicy. Thanks Nagi!
You’re so welcome!
Hi Nagi. Gonna give this a go tonight and will let you know what I think. Looks scrumptious and easy. Just what IO need for a 35 degree day in Melb, Aust. Would “ginger, shallot, sauce” go to “liquidy” if I made it up an hour or two before poaching chook?
Excellent recipe – the only one I will use for poached chicken. I shredded it for a dish and ended up eating a good portion plain before completing the recipe. So good dipped into any sauce I have in the fridge. I’m planning to make the soup from the link in this recipe tonight. Thank you!
So pleased you enjoyed this Jenny! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Just made this tonight!
super easy and super delicious! will definitely cook this again
Enjoyed every mouthful. Both sauces excellent Thanks Nagi for this easy recipe.
Glad you enjoyed it May!!! Thanks for sharing your feedback 🙂 N
Excellent recipe and very easy. The ginger/ shallot sauce perfect. Thanks for this recipe.
Oooh I love the sauce! It’s so good, isn’t it? 🙂 N x
Thanks for this easy recipe. Quick question – would the method work (would the chicken have the same moist texture) if the water were seasoned with salt, pepper or other aromatics?
Hi Ariana! Only thing I query is the salt – it affects the ability of water to retain heat so I’m not sure how that will affect the chicken 🙂 But aromatics – for sure!
in an authentic hainan chicken recipe, salt, wine, ginger, and scallion is used in the poaching liquid, so no it would not affect the cooking, and would actually improve the taste by a lot
Adding salt to the water raises the boiling point by a few degrees. It also lessens the heat retention of heated water.
I made this for dinner last night and it was SO GOOD! It was my first time cooking chicken breast with this method (I feel like a fraud for saying “cooking” when it was that easy) and it turned out perfectly – I’ll be using it from now on.
A few weeks ago I tried making Hainanese chicken rice where the recipe called for a whole chicken which I found really fiddly and time consuming and I must say for all the effort it turned out pretty much the same as this recipe. So thank you Nagi for making life easier! My husband has been requesting chicken rice ever since we visited Singapore and he was very happy with this recipe, although he insisted I also make a broth to serve on the side so we could have the full “chicken rice set” hahaha.
You’re so welcome Lauren! To be honest, the key thing for me with Hainanese chicken is the chicken flavoured RICE! It’s SO GOOD!
Yes, you’re right! When I made your recipe I did actually serve it with the rice from Hainanese chicken rice recipe because it was just so delicious. I think discovering that rice has changed my life!
Hi Nagi! Do you have a recipe for the cucumbers you put in the bowl at the end of the video? I’ve had these in China and they are absolutely delicious! Are they simply pickled cucumbers or is there something more to it? Please let me know. Thanks!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your site and recipes!!!
Hi Nagi! Excited to try this recipe because I’ve always found chicken breast too dry and flavorless. Do you have any suggestions of herbs or veggies to add to the pot to bring more flavor into the chicken breast and broth? (Ginger, onion, splash of soy sauce?) or it truly is best plain?
This look amazing!! I’m working on my menu for hosting our family Lunar new year dinner this Friday, and definitely want to try making this. But I was wondering if I could use skin-on, bone-in breasts?
Sorry Melissa, this won’t work with bone in skin on breast, and unfortunately I haven’t tested it to know what amendment would be required. Sorry!
traditionally a whole chicken is used so why couldn’t one use bone in skin on breast? the cooking time would need to be adjusted, but a meat thermometer can help with that
Hi Anon! With a whole chicken, you need to bring it to the boil twice and it takes about 90 minutes, from memory 🙂 N x
I also need to make a lot for about 9 people. How would I go about increasing the amount of chicken breasts? This isn’t the only thing on the menu.
Delicious as promised AND easy. Thank you. Discovering this poaching method is life changing! The sauce was so delicious, once the chicken was gone I had it over crackers (no cooked rice on hand). I want to try the whole steamed fish with hot oil, ginger, and scallions next. I too have fond memories of the fragrant sizzle when the hot oil is poured.
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for sharing your feedback – N x
Hi Nagi,
I just wanted to check the amounts for the onion and ginger sauce:
“3 – 4 shallots / scallions / spring onions , green and white part thinly sliced (1 heaped cup)”
So, it’s 3-4 shallots, but if we use scallions/spring onions we need to chop up a heaped cup’s worth…? That seems like a lot of spring onions.
Thanks.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s absolutely brilliant. As a Kiwi (and also very long time Melbourne resident) who has recently moved to Scandinavia from Oz, I really missed Hainanese Chicken and those sorts of poached chicken and rice dishes that I used to get for lunch from one of the many Chinese and Asian places back in NZ and Oz.
This recipe really fits the bill and is ridiculously easy to whack together and the flavour is simply awesome. You’re right as well about the ginger and spring onion sauce, there’s nearly fisticuffs for the last dollop round the dining table! And your method of poaching chicken Nagi is fool proof and turns out perfectly everytime – I’ve even used it to to make some chicken for chicken and mayo sangers and they were just brilliant.
I’ve also cooked your quick satay stir fry twice now as well and that’s a hit too so I’m fast becoming a big fan of your site. Thanks for taking the time to post all of these wonderful recipes.
And as an occasionally homesick Antipodean, I’ve just discovered your sausage roll recipe which is a complete lifeline as I’ve been having cravings for the things.
Thanks once again!
Terrific to hear Tim! So glad you enjoyed this and the stir fry, thanks for taking the time to leave a review! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi! How long does the sauce last? Could I make it several days before I make the chicken? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Michelle! I recommend 48 hours at most 🙂 After that I am pretty sure the ginger will start losing flavour 🙂 This is SO GOOD I hope you love it, it’s like a simpler version of Hainanese Chicken
Hi Nagi, 5 stars for your poaching method! I have used it to cook chicken for a soup, so that I can add it last minute and not ivercook it. I found that I had smaller pieces of chicken, 150-200g so I pulled the 150g pieces out at 15min and left the bigger pieces for 20min. I also used a big pot and cooked 4 chicken breasts at the same time. Still perfectly cooked chicken! I haven’t made the sauces yet, but look forward to testing them on husband. And, after reading through the comments, I was intrigued by Hainanese chicken Rice, but apparently you haven’t done s recipe for that yet! It sounds like something my kids would love for dinner. Very subtle recipe request?(!) I don’t trust many recipes online because I dislike investing time and effort into trying a recipe that flops. Yours are ALWAYS reliable!!
It’s on my list, I promise! Hainanese chicken is so insanely good 🙂 And I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Tamarra, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Nagi, I’m making this recipe for supper tonight & it reminds me of something I have to share with you!
So, yet again, I was across the country in Ottawa for some meetings. I left Garry this recipe (and others) to make for our family while I was gone. He protested & repeatedly stated there was NO WAY he could do this recipe. We’d had it a few times before, but he didn’t witness the process of preparing it. I kept telling him “Just make it! TRUST ME! You got this. I know it looks complicated & fancy….trust me…..it’s an illusion! I wouldn’t lie hunny….neither would Nagi. You are totally capable, it’s just SO EASY!” I literally had to say those things over & over again.
I get a call from him while he’s finishing up making it. He’s blindingly OVERJOYED!! He cannot believe how easy it is to make such a DELICIOUS meal. Flavour is off the charts….and yet it requires no secret, magical, hold your tongue the right way, years of cooking experience, buy a fancy chef hat online kind of talent! YOU ARE AWESOME NAGI!! Thank you for making it so easy to feed my family amazing food when the primary chef is thousands of km away.
Oh JOSIE!!!!! You make me smile from ear to ear!! N xx
Absolutely delicious! Tried this recipe last night and it was a hit. I was afraid the chicken breasts would not be fully cooked but they turned out perfectly. My family usually avoids breast meat as it is tougher and dryer to eat, but they cleaned their plates last night. Thanks for also sharing the spring onion sauce recipe. Divine. The sauce also goes well with any roast meats you get from Chinese restaurants eg. char siu, roast pork, roast duck. YUM! Now… for a Hainanese chicken rice recipe …
I think that every single time and it NEVER fails! Hainanese chicken is on my list…. N xx
Omg the sauce…… Just yum! Next time I’m making double x
I know I know….I feel the same! ?
Hi Nagi, this is ridiculously good. Cooked it twice now, and although a fairly quick and easy meal to prepare, I was wondering if a could cheat a little and use grated ginger out a a jar. The zing of the fresh grated ginger is really good in the sauce, so I expect that the jar stuff might not give the same result. I was after your thoughts?
Woo hoo! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know Goanna! And yes, you suspected right – fresh is best because ginger is a key ingredient in this sauce and also jar ginger has a slight sourness to it that will affect the flavour. 🙂 N xx