Whole poached chicken

Pale and incredibly succulent, cooking a whole chicken using this method feels as though the end result must be doing you good.

I tend to go one of 2 ways with a poached chicken. One is the classic Jewish penicillin, cooked with leek, carrot, celery and parsley. This makes the basis of an excellent soup with matzo balls, but I prefer it as a plate of beautifully tender chicken pieces served with brown basmati rice, garlic greens and a generous spoonful of dijon mustard for a poke of hot spice on the side.

The other way is Chinese style ‘saliva chicken’, so succulent it makes your mouth water. This is cooked with spring onions, ginger and rice wine, and served again with rice and a contrasting poke of spice this time provided by intensely spicy chilli sauce.

• 1.5kg whole chicken
• Aromatic ingredients (either 2 spring onions, roughly chopped; 2-inch piece of ginger, sliced into thick coins; 2 tbsp shaosing rice wine; 1 star anise OR 1 leek, cleaned and roughly chopped incl the green bit; 1 large carrot, scrubbed and roughly chopped; 1 stick celery, roughly chopped; small handful parsley stalks; 5 black peppercorns; 1 bay leaf)
• 2 tsp salt

1. Put the chicken breast side up, salt and all the aromatic ingredients into a deep pan
2. Pour over enough cold water to just cover the chicken
3. Cover and bring to a rolling boil
4. Boil for 10 mins then turn off the heat and leave the pot to sit, covered, for an hour
5. Remove the chicken from the pot and discard the other ingredients
6. Rest for 10 mins then remove the skin, cut into pieces, season with a pinch of salt and eat up

To make soup, boil the broth until reduced by at least a third to intensify the flavour

You can also use the broth as stock to use in other dishes

If making the Chinese style version, sprinkle the chicken pieces with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Here’s the recipe for the chilli sauce to dunk your chicken pieces in

Szechuan chilli sauce

• 6 tbsp chilli oil
• 2 tbsp black vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp shaosing wine
• 1 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, squashed with the flat of a knife
• 1 spring onion, minced
• Coriander stalks, minced

1. Mix all the ingredients together. Allow to sit for 15 mins before using, discarding the garlic as you serve