I don’t remember much from my early childhood in Canton, China, but oh how I remember the food. Poached chicken with ginger scallion dipping sauce was always a staple at family gatherings, and I’d hoard the sauce to eat over rice or toss with noodles (a tasty alternative for vegetarians!). After we moved to the U.S., my mom would still make this dish often because it was quick and inexpensive comfort food. And, lucky for me, Nick quickly mastered it for whenever he needs to get back on my good side ; )

To me, the beauty of this sauce is in its 4-ingredient simplicity. Raw ginger has a kick to it and scallions have that onion-y bite. When combined with sizzling oil and some salt, the flavors balance each other out nicely. Poached chicken might sound like the blandest thing on earth, but here it serves as a juicy canvas for the sauce (read below for tips on perfect poaching).

Today’s post is a slightly healthier modification of this traditional Cantonese favorite. Typically, the dish involves a whole poached chicken, and the sauce is very oily and salty, with ginger and just the white parts of scallions. My mom’s version subs in grapeseed oil (in a much reduced amount), and we use skinless chicken breasts or thighs. After poaching, you also end up with a light chicken broth with hints of the aromatics – it’s soothing to sip, or you can repurpose it in other dishes!

Perfectly poached chicken:

1 lb chicken (using 1 large boneless skinless breast here)
2-3 ginger slices + any other aromatics desired like onion or lemongrass
enough water to cover the chicken
salt to taste (if you’ll be drinking the broth or using it to cook rice)

Step 1: Put chicken into a lidded pot just large enough to hold it and the aromatics. Add just enough cold water to cover everything.

Step 2: Bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let stand for 30 minutes without opening the lid. Remove the chicken from the pot right after the 30 minutes (test doneness with a food thermometer if you have one), slice, and serve. For smaller pieces of chicken like half breasts, thighs, or drumsticks, I’ve found it only takes about 25 minutes covered.

For a light chicken broth with a hint of ginger, skim the fat off the top of the poaching broth and add salt to taste. I try to make the chicken in advance so that I can use the broth to cook my rice!