The last couple of months I've been experimenting with meal prepping. Not the kind where you prep all your meals for the entire week at once - I did that a long time ago, but I have this irrational fear of pre-cooked meals in airtight containers - but the type where you prep one larger item and incorporate it in your meals over the following days. And that seems to be working for me. My favourite so far is this Asian-style poached chicken. Because it's delicious and very low-effort to make. It's practically a dump everything in a large pan, and go on with your life. And when it's done, you have a delicious poached chicken and a freezer full of chicken stock - that is if you don't drink it all in the next couple of days. So go ahead, and give it a try.
Recipe
- Cut the green part of five green onions into three pieces. Reserve the white parts. Cut two red chili peppers in halve, lengthwise. Roughly slice 100g of ginger.
- Place the cut green onions, red chillies, and ginger with a pinch of asafoetida, 60ml light soy sauce, 250ml Shaoxing, and 3l water in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil.
- Add the chicken, breast-side down. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, and let sit for 1 hour.
- In the meantime, get a small glass jar, place the white parts of the green onions in it, and a bit of water. Place in a windowsill. Give it some time and fresh water every couple of days, and you'll have grown new green onions.
- After 1 hour, remove the chicken from the stock. Place on a large plate, allow to cool slightly, then shred the meat.
- Strain the stock into another pan or large heatproof bowl, discarding the solids. Allow to cool.
- When cooled down, place the stock and chicken in airtight containers. Keep the chicken in your refrigerator. Keep the stock in your refrigerator or freezer. Over time I will add some recipes below that make use of both.
Ingredients
5 green onions
2 long red chili peppers
100g ginger
pinch of asafoetida
60ml light soy sauce
250ml Shaoxing wine
3l water
1.3kg whole chicken
