Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Sauce

This lovely summer is (almost) coming to an end. Before another summer leaves us behind, I want to squeeze in this super easy summer poached chicken recipe.

It requires only 7 simple ingredients (chicken, ginger, scallions, light soy sauce, oil, sugar, and water) that you probably already have in your kitchen, and minimal time on the stove. It can also be made ahead and served at room temperature on warm nights. 

So while the day is still long and patience in the kitchen remains short, let this new tasty chicken dish carry you through the rest of the season! 

Recipe Origins

I came up with the idea for this dish when thinking of my favorite dipping sauce for poached chicken, or bai qie ji (白切鸡). 

The Cantonese traditionally serve poached chicken with a sauce made of ginger, scallion whites, oil, and salt. Truthfully, as a Shanghainese person, I never really got into it. I do like it as a sauce base, but I always add light soy sauce to it (the Shanghainese put soy sauce in everything, as Bill likes to say). The combination is just perfect for my palate, and even Sarah and Kaitlin love it, which makes sense, since they’re half Shanghainese! 

The resulting sauce for this poached chicken is actually very similar to a traditional scallion ginger sweet soy sauce mixture usually served over Cantonese steamed fish (see our recipe for steamed whole fish here), so I like to think it pleases the Cantonese palate as well. 

When Sarah was little, she wasn’t a big fan of fish, but she LOVED the sauce it came with. We would just spoon the sweet gingery sauce onto her rice, and she was a happy girl. I wish I’d come up with this dish made with chicken back then, as she would’ve gobbled it up! 

A Quick Note On Poaching Chicken!

In order to make the poached chicken juicy and silky, it is important to follow the cooking instructions laid out here. 

Using high heat and over-boiling the chicken will cause the meat to dry out, especially if you decide to use chicken breast (though I highly recommend using dark meat for this recipe––drumsticks, thighs, or chicken leg quarters).

If you really want this dish to turn out great, we recommend buying an organic, kosher, or pasture raised chicken for this recipe. Poached chicken is all about the texture of the meat, and factory farmed chickens just don’t taste nearly as good. 

Ok, on to the recipe! 

Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Sauce: Recipe Instructions

In a medium pot, bring 4 cups water to a boil along with 3 slices ginger and 1 scallion.

Lower the chicken into the pot, and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. The heat level should be just high enough so the water is moving, without any big bubbles or rolling water. 

After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, leave the lid on and let the chicken continue cooking in the warm pot for another 15 minutes. 

If you use boneless, skinless chicken breast, you can reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes, but still keep the chicken in the pot for 15 minutes after turning off the heat. To test if the chicken is cooked, pierce the thickest part of the chicken to make sure the juices run clear.  

Remove the chicken from the pot and place in ice water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking process and firm up the meat.

Shred the meat onto a serving plate. 

To make the sauce, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium/low heat, and cook the julienned scallion whites until crisp and lightly brown.

Remove and place the scallion whites on top of the shredded chicken. 

Now add 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon sugar and ½ cup of the water you used to cook the chicken. Stir and bring it to boil.

Now add in the ginger and chopped scallion greens. 

Taste for seasoning and add more soy sauce or salt if desired. Bring to a boil again and pour it over the chicken. 

Serve! You can serve immediately or at room temperature.