Healthy poached chicken w/ bulgur wheat

Poaching chicken is a great way to create a delicious bonus ingredient: chicken broth! The results are a wonderfully tender meat and a flavourful broth that you can then use to cook your grains: in this case, bulgur wheat, but rice, couscous or quinoa would all work well. Freeze any leftover broth for making soup.
I’ve added onion, ginger and garlic to the water as it cooks, but you could equally use other aromatics: swap the onion for spring onions, add black peppercorns, or a chopped carrot, for example.
Plunging the poached chicken into ice water immediately after cooking will get deliciously tender meat.
Healthy poached chicken w/ bulgur wheat
Poaching chicken is a great way to create a delicious bonus ingredient: chicken broth! The results are a wonderfully tender meat and a flavourful broth that you can then use to cook your grains: in this case, bulgur wheat, but rice, couscous or quinoa would all work well. Freeze any leftover broth for making soup.
I’ve added onion, ginger and garlic to the water as it cooks, but you could equally use other aromatics: swap the onion for spring onions, add black peppercorns, or a chopped carrot, for example.
Plunging the poached chicken into ice water immediately after cooking will get deliciously tender meat.
Steps
- 1
Place the chicken in a saucepan (I used a medium-sized saucepan) and cover with water so the chicken is submerged by an inch or so.
- 2
Place over a high heat and bring to a fast boil for 5 minutes.
- 3
Use a metal spoon to remove the scum that rises to the surface
- 4
Once you’ve removed all the scum, add your aromatics: ginger, onion and garlic, and season with salt.
- 5
Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes – this will differ depending on the size of the chicken.
As I used small chicken thighs and drumsticks, it didn’t take as long as a larger leg, for example.
Pay attention to the time, cook it too long and it’ll be too tough.
- 6
Meanwhile, fill a bowl with a big handful of ice cubes and top up with cold water. Set aside.
- 7
To check the chicken is cooked, use tongs to remove the chicken from the pan to a board or plate.
Use a fork to keep it in place, then pierce the meat to the bone with the tip of a sharp knife. If the juices run clear, it’s cooked. Don’t worry if the meat around the bone is slightly darker or very slightly pink.
If there’s blood in the juices, it’s not cooked – if not cooked, return to the pan for another few minutes, then check again.
- 8
Once cooked, use tongs to remove each chicken piece into the ice water for 10 minutes.
- 9
You’ll now have a flavourful chicken broth. Sieve the liquid into a jug.
If you want to cook grains, use it instead of water. Or if you don't want to cook grains, save your stock or freeze it for another time.
- 10
To cook your grains, return the pan to the heat and add a splash of oil. Add the softened onions if you like (discard the ginger and garlic) to the pan and allow to fry for a few mins in the oil.
- 11
Add the bulgur wheat and stir well so it's coated in the oil.
- 12
Measure out 2 cups of the chicken broth and tip it into the pan, season well with salt. Turn up the heat and wait till you see bubbles on surface (lid off).
- 13
Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender.
- 14
Shred the tender chicken off the bone, then serve with the cooked bulgur wheat with lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Tips
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