poached chicken breast with hot tamarind broth
17 October 2013This is a quick and healthy meal to prepare. If you are time-poor, poach the chicken in simmering liquid for 10-15 minutes. Tamarind pulp can be found in specialty Asian grocery stores. Tamarind puree or concentrate is an alternative if you can’t find tamarind pulp.
INGREDIENTS:
1 skinless chicken breast1L chicken stock
125g tamarind paste*
2 lemongrass, bruised
3 garlic cloves, bruised
3cm ginger, bruised
4 large dried red chillies
4 golden shallots, peeled and finely sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
½ cup coriander leaves
METHOD:
In a saucepan, bring 500ml chicken stock to boil then slip in the chicken breast. Cover, remove from heat and allow to poach in liquid for 45 minutes.
In another saucepan, add remaining chicken stock, tamarind paste, lemongrass, garlic cloves, ginger and chillies. Bring to boil then allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Strain the broth and bring it back to a simmer. Add shallots, tomatoes and kaffir lime leaves then remove from heat.
To serve, slice chicken breast and place them in a bowl. Ladle a generous amount of broth over the chicken breast slices and garnish with coriander leaves.
* To make tamarind paste, combine 180g tamarind pulp in 90ml lukewarm water. Massage the pulp in the water with your fingers to form a smooth paste. Push it through a sieve to remove the fibres and seeds.This will give you approximately 3/4 cup of tamarind paste.
