Discover how to make tender, flavourful soy sauce poached chicken in the Season Cast Iron Casserole — the perfect one-pot recipe for rich, aromatic cooking. This simple yet impressive poached chicken recipe combines the depth of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and spices to create beautifully juicy meat with minimal effort. Cooking in the Season Cast Iron Casserole ensures even heat distribution and moisture retention, making it ideal for slow cooking or poaching — perfect for cosy, comforting meals. This soy sauce chicken is so tasty itself, just serve it with plain jasmine rice for a simple, satisfying dinner.
Number of servings: 4-6
Cooking time: 1.5 hours
Preparation time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Medium-sized chicken: 1
Ginger: 15 g. thinly sliced
Shallot: 5 pcs, roughly chopped
Spring onion: 1 bunch, roughly chopped
Light soy sauce: 150 ml
Dark soy sauce: 100 ml
Cooking rice wine: 30 ml
Water: 400 ml (depending on pot size, ensure to reach 3/4 of the casserole)
Star anise: 3
Cinnamon stick: 1
Fennel seed: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Method
Add vegetable oil into the Season Cast Iron Casserole, ensuring the bottom is fully coated. Heat over medium heat.
Add the ginger, shallots, and spring onion. Stir-fry for 5 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden.
Pour in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking rice wine, and water (ensure it reaches 3/4 of the casserole — do not fill to the top, as space is needed for the chicken).
Bring the liquid to a boil and taste for seasoning. It should be slightly saltier than normal, so the chicken absorbs full flavour during poaching.
Grab the wings and carefully lower the medium-sized chicken into the hot liquid, ensuring the cavity is submerged. Lift the chicken to drain the hot liquid from the cavity, then submerge again. Repeat this at least three times to bring the cavity to the right temperature.
Place the chicken breast-side up in the liquid. Use a ladle to baste hot liquid over the breast. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover with the lid. Remove from heat and let it poach for at least 25 minutes.
Timing note: For larger chickens, add roughly 10–12 minutes per additional 0.5 kg.
Remove the lid, carefully flip the chicken so the thighs are submerged. Cover and simmer over low heat (do not boil) for another 25 minutes.
Take the chicken out of the liquid and use the Season iProbe thermometer to ensure it is fully cooked — the thighs should reach at least 73°C. Allow it to cool completely before carving.
Optional sauce: You can reduce the poaching liquid to thicken it and brush it over the chicken when serving, or reserve for future use — perfect for cooking noodles, marinating eggs, or tofu.
Using the Season S4 Carving Knife, remove the wings first, then the thighs. Glide the tip of the knife along the rib bones to gently release the breast, then slice into 1 cm thick slices.
Arrange the chicken on a plate, garnish with spring onion, and serve with steamed jasmine rice.
