POACHED GINGER CHICKEN with COCONUT RICE

Who would have thought such amazing recipes could be found in the free Coles food magazine every month? Not I. March’s edition has a beautiful Chicken & Spring Onion Stir-fry on the cover and inside Asian cuisine, figs, grapes and spring onions are explored passionately, not to mention some melt-in-your-mouth cakes. After eating a delectable Wagamamma Ginger & Udon Stir-fry today at a celebration lunch with my partner & business partner, I decided that I needed something just as light and flavoursome for dinner. Poaching chicken is not something I do often, but it is an excellent low-fat way to cook poultry. As I mentioned in the cooking steps below, you just have to make sure that you check that no pink flesh remains in the chicken breast or disaster can strike. The coconut rice is a bit of a splash out, however if you use light coconut milk the fat content reduces dramatically. A perfect meal for a rainy Monday night.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 spring onions, trimmed & washed 
• 4cm piece of ginger, peeled & sliced into thin pieces 
• 600g chicken breast fillets, either similar size or cut into even large pieces 
• 1/3 cup gluten-free soy sauce 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes 
• 2 cups jasmine or doongara rice
• 400ml can light coconut milk 

COOKING 

1. Place 4 whole spring onions in a large, deep frying pan with ginger slices and chicken (if the spring onions are too long for your pan, cut them in half). Pour enough water in to cover the chicken pieces by 2cm. Finely cut the 4 remaining spring onions into fine long strips, then place in a medium bowl filled with ice and water (this will make the onions curl at the tips). 

2. Cover the frying pan with a lid (or use a baking tray if you do not have a lid). Bring the chicken mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, then leave the chicken to simmer for 10 minutes, partly removing the lid. Remove the largest piece/fillet of chicken from the pan and cut into it, checking that no pink flesh remains. Cover the chicken loosely with foil for 5 minutes to rest, then remove and slice into even slices. Reserve 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid and combine in a small bowl with soy sauce and sesame oil. 

3. Meanwhile, make coconut rice. Place rice in a sieve and drain well with cold water. Place drained rice in a medium saucepan with coconut milk, 1 cup water and a pinch of sea salt. Cover the saucepan and bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then simmer for 8-10 minutes or until no liquid remains. Turn off the stove and let the rice sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid and fluffing it up with a fork. 

4. Drain the spring onions in iced water and combine with chilli flakes and sea salt, if you desire. Drizzle soy sauce mixture over the top of the sliced chicken and spring onions. Serve the coconut rice on the side. (Discard the ginger, water and spring onion liquid in the large pan). 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes

Total Cooking time / 35 minutes 

x Emily