If poached chicken sounds bland, put it in this zesty sauce

By AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN

While poached chicken may sound like bland diet food, we actually love this method as it is very forgiving and an easy path to moist, succulent chicken every time.

First, we created a flavorful poaching liquid; soy sauce adds great flavor with minimal effect on the final sodium count. Allowing the chicken to gently poach in the residual heat, elevated in a steamer basket, ensured even cooking.

We then paired the poached chicken with a bold vinaigrette and added halved cherry tomatoes to give the finished dish even more substance. Parsley may be substituted for the cilantro in the vinaigrette.

POACHED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH WARM TOMATO-GINGER VINAIGRETTE

Servings: 4

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Chicken:

4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Pinch ground cumin

Pinch ground fennel

6 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

For the chicken: Pound chicken breasts to uniform thickness as needed. Whisk 4 quarts water, soy sauce, and garlic together in Dutch oven. Arrange breasts, skinned side up, in steamer basket, making sure not to overlap them. Submerge steamer basket in water.

Heat pot over medium heat, stirring liquid occasionally to even out hot spots, until water registers 175 F, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot, remove from burner, and let sit until chicken registers 160 F, 17 to 22 minutes. Transfer breasts to plate, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest while preparing vinaigrette.

For the vinaigrette: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot, ginger, cumin and fennel, and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes have softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro, vinegar and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with pepper to taste. Spoon vinaigrette evenly over each breast before serving.

Nutrition information per serving: 332 calories; 105 calories from fat; 12 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 124 mg cholesterol; 1105 mg sodium; 14 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 42 g protein

For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Poached Chicken in "Complete Diabetes Cookbook ."

America's Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press.