Juicy and Tender Poached Chicken With Watercress and Miso Dressing

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated February 13, 2025
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Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Starting the chicken in room-temperature water and then cooking it at a gentle heat keeps the flesh tender and juicy.
  • An aromatic poaching liquid with scallion, ginger, and salt becomes a tasty broth for sipping.

Poached chicken may not be as popular as fried, roasted, and braised chicken, but when it's done correctly, its tenderness and juiciness are unmatched. They key to perfect poached chicken, though, is to not cook it like most recipes say. Instead, follow the cold-poaching method I developed and wrote about in depth for chicken that comes out supremely plump and tender, not stringy and dry or, worse, raw in the middle. Those unfortunate results are common pitfalls with the more traditional methods like simmering until the chicken is cooked, or dropping it into hot water, turning off the heat and letting it sit for a while, hoping it'll be properly cooked at the end (spoiler: it's often not).

By adding the chicken along with flavorful aromatics to cold water, you gently bring it up to temperature with the water. Then, the key is to hold it at a temperate well below a simmer, just a bit hotter than chicken's ideal internal doneness temperature (around 150 to 170°F). There's no food safety risk, the chicken will be exposed to high enough temperatures for long enough to eliminate any unwanted bacteria like salmonella.

Served with rice and peppery watercress and dressed in a bright, flavorful miso vinaigrette, it makes an easy, light, clean-tasting dinner or lunch.

Recipe Details

Juicy and Tender Poached Chicken With Watercress and Miso Dressing Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Cook 70 mins
Active 30 mins
Total 75 mins
Serves 4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts (2 L) cold water

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (15 g) kosher salt

  • 2 medium skin-on, bone-in chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds; 680g)

  • 1 whole scallion, root end trimmed, plus thinly sliced scallion for garnish

  • 1 (2-inch) knob peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced

  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil

  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh juice from 1 lemon

  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) white miso

  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) soy sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon (3 ml) toasted sesame oil

  • 7 ounces watercress (200 g; about 2 quarts, loosely packed)

  • Warm cooked rice, for serving

Directions

  1. In a large saucepan, combine water and salt, stirring to dissolve salt. Add chicken, scallion, and ginger and set over medium-high heat until water temperature reaches between 150 and 160°F on an instant-read thermometer; adjust heat to maintain water temperature in the 150–160°F range. (It's okay if the temperature bounces around a little, but try to keep it above 150 and below 170°F.) Cook until thickest part of chicken registers 150°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from broth and let rest. Strain broth through a fine-mesh strainer and save for sipping or another use.

  2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, miso, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. In a medium bowl, toss watercress with just enough miso dressing to lightly coat.

  3. Remove and discard chicken skin and cut chicken meat from bones; discard bones. Slice chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Scoop rice into bowls and top with watercress and chicken slices. Drizzle miso vinaigrette onto chicken and garnish with sliced scallions. Serve.

Special equipment

Instant-read thermometer, fine-mesh strainer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
267Calories
12gFat
2gCarbs
37gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories267
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g15%
Saturated Fat 2g9%
Cholesterol 96mg32%
Sodium 671mg29%
Total Carbohydrate 2g1%
Dietary Fiber 1g2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 25mg126%
Calcium 83mg6%
Iron 1mg8%
Potassium 491mg10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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