Poached Chicken Dish Recipe by Chef Jay

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This recipe was developed as a response to the temporary suspension of live chicken exports from Malaysia to Singapore, which disrupted our supply of fresh chicken. Frozen chicken has to be considered as an alternate source in order to meet local demand.

 Try out Chef Jay Teo’s recipe using Frozen Chicken, which has been properly thawed, brined and poached to produce a juicy and well-seasoned meat!

Ingredients

Chicken Brine

Defrosted Chicken

1 whole

Water

2 litres

Salt (3%)

60 gm

Sugar (2%)

40 gm


Fermented Mushroom Broth

Shiitake Mushroom

150 gm

Water

400 ml

Salt (2%)

8 gm

Leek

30 gm

Onion

40 gm


Sides

Daikon 

100 gm

Chicken Fat (for smoking)         

80 gm

Swiss Brown Mushroom

2 pcs

Silken Tofu       

10gm


Charred Spring Onion Purée

Spring Onion

200 gm

Water

As needed

Salt

To taste


Garnish

Spring Onion

3 gm

Red Chilli         

3 gm

 

Preparing the Defrosted Chicken

Brining the Chicken

  1. Combine all brine ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until completely dissolved.
  2. Submerge the chicken fully and let it brine for 12 hours.

Poaching the Chicken

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil (filled enough so it covers the chicken fully), and season with a good amount of salt (you may add aromatics to the water; or even use broth instead of water).
  2. Add the chicken into the pot, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and allow to poach. The poaching process takes 25 minutes for a 600gm whole chicken, and 45 minutes for a 1kg chicken.
  3. Once the chicken is poached, transfer to an ice water bath to sit for at least 15 minutes, or longer, until the meat has cooled to room temperature.
  4. Debone the chicken and it is ready to serve.

Making Fermented Mushroom Broth

  1. Dissolve salt in water. Vacuum pack mushrooms and salted water and leave it to ferment at room temperature for five (5) days.
  2. Strain liquid into a pot, you do not need the mushrooms anymore. Bring it to a boil and turn it down to low heat.
  3. Add in chopped leeks, onions and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Season with salt to taste. Add water if necessary. The broth should taste slightly sour and salty, with sweet and umami notes from the mushroom.

Making Daikon Noodles

  1. Use a Japanese turning slicer or spiralizer to make daikon into noodles, and soak them in ice water.
  2. Boil a pot of water, season it with salt. Blanch the daikon noodles for about a minute to take the raw edge off, then remove it to rest in an ice water bath.

Preparing Smoked Chicken Fat

  1. Add the chicken fat to a pot with some water, let it cook over low heat which slowly renders the fats. Once the water is evaporated, you get the fat (liquid gold). Transfer the rendered fats to a metal container.
  2. In a cast-iron pan, add in wood chips and heat over high heat. Once they start to smoke, use a blow torch to burn the wood chips ensuring they are fully burned and black.
  3. In its container, place the chicken fats over the wood chips and cover with a lid to extinguish the flames. Allow the fats to smoke for three (3) minutes.
  4. Transfer the smoked chicken fats into a new container, allow to cool fully before storing in the fridge until ready to use.

Preparing the Mushroom & Tofu

  1. Simmer mushrooms in the fermented mushroom broth for five (5) minutes.
  2. Dice the tofu into 1cm by 1cm cubes, and transfer into a bowl of water.
  3. Blanch diced tofu for 10 seconds and transfer to a new bowl of water, until ready to use.

Making Charred Spring Onion Purée

  1. Heat a pan with oil on high heat. Once the pan is smoking, add spring onions to cook until charred and softened.
  2. Transfer the spring onions to a high-speed blender. Add water as needed while blending to a desired consistency. Season with salt to taste.

Preparing the Garnish

  1. Julienne the spring onions and red chillies (deseeded).
  2. Transfer garnish into ice water for five (5) minutes, strain and store them in a container lined with a paper towel.

Assembling the Dish

  1. Start with a spoonful of Charred Spring Onion Purée on a plate, top with Daikon Noodles and dress the ingredients with smoked chicken fat.
  2. Next, add sliced Poached Chicken on top of the noodles, and garnish with julienned spring onion and chilli.
  3. Place tofu cubes around the dish, add cooked mushrooms, and pour in Fermented Mushroom Broth to finish (add more chicken fat as desired). Serve and enjoy!