Thai Poached Whole Chicken With Steamed Vegetables

possible my favourite meal, ever...

There are 2 elements to this recipe; the health benefits and just outright deliciousness. Let's start with the first.

Boiling food in water is about as primal as it comes for cooking. Good stock is at the heart of all traditional cuisines, from France to Japan and South America to Russia. It's an essential flavour element but it is also incredibly good for you.

Stock contains many minerals in a very absorbable form for your body as well as a different set of amino acids that often aren't eaten in modern-day diets like proline and glycine. There is much to be said about this topic of stocks and broths so instead, I'll just link to an article by the Weston A Price foundation if you're interested.

Secondly the taste factor, it's just delicious. You really just need to try it for yourself! This recipe is from episode 3 of my Day of Eating video series.

Servings: 4-6

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 60 Minutes

Bulk Ingredients:

• 1 free range whole chicken

• 1 onion

• 1-2 leeks

• 1-4 chilli peppers

• 5-10cm of ginger

• 5-6 cloves of garlic

• 2 stalks of lemongrass

• 1 lime

Spices:

• 20 black peppercorns

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

Method:

Place the chicken into a large saucepan and prepare the vegetables, herbs and spices.

Add all the ingredients including vegetables, herbs and spices into the pan with the chicken.

I didn't have access to fresh lemongrass stalks so used a paste instead. Once all the ingredients are in add the water.

Fill the saucepan up to 3cm below the edge and cover. Bring the contents to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

After 60 minutes, remove the saucepan from heat, remove the chicken and place it in a dish to portion and divide.

The chicken can be portioned into sections such as breast, leg and wing or it can all just be shredded from the carcass. You're now left with shredded or portioned chicken and 1-2L of rich chicken stock.

To Serve:

This recipe can ultimately be enjoyed in many ways however my personal favourite is kind of like a ramen bowl but with rice. For this place cooked rice in a deep bowl and add 200-300ml of strained stock. Then place steamed vegetables of your choice (I used pak choi, mushrooms, spring onions) as well as the shredded chicken on top. Sprinkle over fresh coriander to serve. To add an extra creamy finish to this dish, try drizzling coconut cream over the top.

Storage:

Both the stock and shredded chicken can be stored for 2-3 days in a refrigerator and up to 3 months in a freezer.