October 7, 2016
This week I decided to try something different with my lunch game. I’ve been pretty slack when it comes to my food lately, I’ve just been cooking up some grilled chicken and having this with a basic salad. This is all well and good, but this week I decided it was high time that I try something new, especially because Woolworths tracks all my purchases and I feel they might be judging my standard tomato, cucumber, lemon and salad leaves weekly shop. In the spirit of getting some variety back into my life, and trying something new, I researched some new recipes to try. You’d be surprised how many salad recipes there are out there, for something that has a bit of a reputation for being boring. But I guess you can really add whatever ingredients you want to a salad and it can actually end up being quite tasty. And also end up not being that healthy, but hey! I love a good salad full of cheese and delicious things to make it more special. Sometimes it does amaze me though just what people put into salads. By the time you add the dressing, you may as well be eating a hamburger. It would be far tastier and could be better for you (I’m no scientist so don’t take my word for it. I just love burgers).
In this instance, I was looking for something fresh, tasty and healthy for my lunches, and stumbled across some delicious recipes for poached chicken salads. I love a good asian salad, they are always so fresh and crunchy. I always feel so light after eating them, and so I got really excited by the idea of trying one at home. It also meant that I could try something new, as I’ve never really cooked poached chicken, and I wanted to give it a try. I was quite hesitant to try a new cooking style, as to me it doesn’t make sense to poach chicken. I mean cooking in water just seems strange to me. But I know it is really good for you, and so I decided to give it a go and see how I went.
Surprisingly, poaching chicken isn’t even that difficult. Once you have the poaching liquid, it’s just a matter of chucking the chicken in and letting it simmer. I wanted to get the flavours of green tea in there, which was actually really fun picking ingredients that would work together and make for a really tasty dish. It was a really quick way of cooking the chicken, and gave it a lovely texture. I think now that I’ve opened my world up to poaching, I will do it more often. I love that you can really get some delicious flavours into the meat without having to marinade it, so it makes it a perfect option for a quick weeknight meal.
To go with the chicken, I decided to make a really fresh, crispy salad. I feel like if you’re going to poach chicken, you need something really tasty to go with it. Maybe it was because I had been eating the same thing a lot lately, but this crunchy salad tasted a million times better than any other salad I’ve made for lunches. Perhaps it was because it was so fresh and crunchy, it tasted more satisfying than what I would normally cook. Whatever it was, if you can make a salad more interesting and delicious, I say you may as well! Making healthy meals delicious is the name of the game after all.
- 1 skinless chicken breast trimmed
- 7 cups of water
- 4 green tea bags
- 1 stalk of lemongrass quartered and crushed
- 2 teaspoons of minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1 packet of crunchy salad mix of your choice – I chose kale and baby spinach
- ¼ red cabbage diced
- ½ white cabbage diced
- 1 packet of bean shoots
- 1 bunch of coriander roughly chopped
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Some of the poaching liquid
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In a large pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the tea bags and steep for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pot.
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Add the lemongrass, garlic and ginger to the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer for about 3 minutes.
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Ensuring that the water is only simmering, add the chicken breast to the water, making sure that it is fully covered in the pot. Cook for 7-10 minutes, or until when you cut into it the breast is fully cooked through. Remove from the water.
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Bring the water up to a boil and allow to reduce for about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in a large salad bowl, combine your salad ingredients minus the lemon juice and poaching liquid. Mix to combine well.
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To serve, slice the chicken breast into small pieces. Combine some of the poaching liquid (I used about 4 tablespoons, but it all depends on how much you want for your salad) and the lemon juice in a small bowl and pour over the salad. Toss to ensure it is mixed through, and then place the chicken breast over the top.
This recipe was super easy to make, even though it seems like it might have a lot of ingredients. The salad involved a little bit of chopping but really in the end was just a matter of chucking ingredients into a big salad bowl. This salad kept me going all week which was perfect for lunch preparation, so you could easily make this meal for yourself and eat it throughout the week. I love a good meal that you can prep in advance so you don’t have to worry too much about cooking on your weeknights. And it means that you’ll have something delicious and healthy on hand when those hamburger cravings come on!
I absolutely loved the poached chicken. It was cooked perfectly in the poaching liquid, and the flavours in the liquid really came through in the dish. I was surprised by how strong the flavour could be from just 7 minutes of cooking! For something that I’ve never really tried, this was a great first attempt, and really tasty. Plus, poaching is a really healthy way to cook chicken, as it doesn’t require any oil, so if you are looking for a healthy method of cooking, this would be a great option! As I said earlier, it is really easy and quick to do, so you could quite easily do this after work, even if you get home a little late. Once you have the poaching liquid to boil you are on your way, and you can whip up a salad based on whatever you have on hand, if you don’t want to get the ingredients. I just felt that the salad was so delicious and satisfying, it is really worth the extra effort in picking up the ingredients! I have decided that crunchy salads are the way to go, because for some reason I feel that they fill me up more, and make me feel that I’m eating something even more substantial.
I’ve realised recently that I love eating Vietnamese inspired food, just because it is so light and fresh. I think I need to start trying to cook more of it, as it is quite simple and easy to make. I feel this first experience has opened up a door to me, and maybe soon I’ll even stop ordering so much take out! Maybe…it depends on if I can make rice paper rolls as well as the restaurants, and with my skills, I’m guessing not! At least I have a delicious salad down pat!
What’s your favourite go to salad? Let me know in the comments below.
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
