Soy-Poached Chicken

By Mark Bittman

Soy-Poached Chicken
Yunhee Kim for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
Total Time
About 45 minutes
Rating
4(235)
Comments
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With a little practice and a little added flavor, a humble chicken breast can be anything you want.

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Ingredients

  • Chicken breasts
  • Shallots
  • Soy sauce
  • Lemons
  • Sugar
  • Cayenne
  • Cilantro
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook 2 or 3 shallots with 2 tablespoons butter or oil and some salt and pepper until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the chicken, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, juice of 1 lemon, .75 cup water, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon sugar and .25 teaspoon cayenne to the pan.

  3. Step 3

    When the liquid boils, lower heat to a simmer; cover and cook chicken for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender and just cooked through.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm. Turn heat to high and boil the mixture until it is reduced to your liking.

  5. Step 5

    Lower heat and return the chicken to the pan to reheat and coat with sauce.

  6. Step 6

    Garnish: Fresh cilantro and lemon.

Ratings

4 out of 5
235 user ratings
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Comments

Bev

When I made this I used skinless thighs, cut into bites.
The sauce is fantastic. Serve over rice or noodles, soba noodles.

SFCook

Since no direction was given for type of chicken breast, I used 2 with bone-in, skin-on that weighed about 1 3/4 pounds. I was using them for a main course salad and wanted to have as much flavor and juiciness as possible. I made certain to simmer until the internal temperature reached 160 degrees F which took close to 40 minutes (low & slow). I will try the whole recipe next time as the sauce is delicious.

Double Reed cook

I guessed and used boneless skinless breasts. I think juice of one lemon was too much. I also doubled the poaching time in order and turned breasts over at the 15 min. mark. Was pretty good, but I will double the amount of water next time.

Kath

I made the recipe exactly as written and it is delicious. I used the chicken in two different ways: in chicken salad, and as a sauce over pasta. In both cases, the amount of lemon tang worked perfectly. This is now in my repertoire. (I added the skin to the poaching liquid, and sliced the breasts in half lengthwise to better submerge them in subsequent uses of the recipe. I, too, thought that it was very important for success to watch closely to keep the simmer from going to boil.)

MCM

The cooking time only seems to work for me when I use cutlets. I used about 1 lbs. I also reduce the sugar to 1 tsp. I serve with soba noodles. Delicious.

Vivian

Amount of water id too little and cooking time is 20 minutes with boneless skinless breast. Will not try this technique again

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