Tea-Poached Chicken

Well, guys, this is the last of the recipes I had hanging out in my "to-blog-about" folder, and now I'm going to have to get back to actually cooking new stuff so I can come up with blog material.  Sigh.  Normally I like that idea, but right now I'm just eating whatever feels like it won't fight back later, which really doesn't leave a lot of options.  For now I'm not big on meat or fish or hot carbs (Yes, you read that right.), and I crave poached eggs (exciting, I know) and frozen burritos - need a tutorial on that?  Didn't think so.  Sadly, even my burritos did not like me today, so I guess those are out for now.  My Recipes to Try Pinterest folder is overflowing, but at the moment, I just want to eat bowls and bowls of limey-corn salad and guacamole and not much else.  Soooo.....this poached chicken thing might have to hold you all over for a while.

Sadly, I did cook a couple things lately that were really, really good, but I didn't take pictures.  One was a pasta primavera that wasn't creamy (because creamy is also out) and the other was a mushroom quiche, which I decided not to take pictures of because I didn't have the kind of cheese I wanted and felt like that was cheating.  Then we ate it.  And I'd just like to say, I am very, very sorry for not blogging about it.  But rest assured, I'll make it again soon(ish).

Chicken wrapped in cheesecloth boiling in a pot is, surprisingly, not very artistic. 

I never thought I'd poach a chicken.  The idea of boiling meat always sounded really odd to me, but for some reason I found this recipe appealing, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  I should have tried it sooner - the main thing I have against cooking a whole chicken is how dry it tends to get, but, Surprise!  Stuff doesn't dry out when it's boiling. 

So here's my live and learn tips from this recipe.

1. BUY KITCHEN TWINE.  I didn't have it or anything like it, so I decided to wrap my chicken in cheesecloth to hold in the stuffing.  HA.  It didn't work too well.
2. Don't over-stuff the chicken.  Even if the cheesecloth doesn't hold the stuffing in well, if you over-stuff the chicken, the rice that is left in there won't cook, then you'll have to take it out and boil it until it's done, and it will get all weird.
3. There is no substitute for dried fruit if you don't have dried fruit, but if you dump some honey into the pot it gives it some sweetness.
4. Don't put peanuts in rice if the people you are eating with don't like peanuts.

This is one of those recipes I shouldn't write about because I didn't do it perfect (or even close) the first time, but oh well.  I seriously doubt any of you who I know read this will ever make it regardless, amIright?

Tea-Poached Chicken

Adapted from here

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked short grain rice
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 black tea bags (I used some smoked tea that my sister gave me.  This is similar.)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup chopped cilantro

Gut chicken, then rub with salt.  Cover and chill 2 hours or more.  Rinse and pat dry.  Combine rice, peanuts, and ginger and stuff into chicken.  Tie legs together with string (STRING, people).  Heat broth and 8 cups of water in a stock pot and bring to boiling.  Add chicken, breast side down, and tea bags.  Return to boiling.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45 minutes, turning chicken after 30 minutes.  Remove chicken from broth and cut to serve.  Strain broth, reserving any rice mixture.  Stir soy sauce and honey into remaining broth, and salt to taste.  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve with rice stuffing and a side of broth.