Poaching involves cooking food in liquid that is almost boiling. The liquid shouldn’t boil. This will keep the chicken tender and moist. When poaching at home I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I first determine what flavours I want the chicken to have when cooked. Poaching is a great way to cook as it adds virtually no fat, yet adds a mild flavour to the meat and keeps it moist. I like using a skillet or saucepan to poach my chicken. Add all of your ingredients to the skillet, including the liquid, but not too much liquid as you shouldn’t completely cover the chicken. Keep the liquid just below boiling and cover the pan while cooking. You will need to turn the chicken over halfway through cooking. Keep in mind that foods cook faster in liquid than without liquid. Be sure to check the internal temperature of the chicken breasts with an instant read thermometer to know when they are done. The internal temperature of a cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast should reach 165ºF or 74ºC. Usually I use chicken broth, perhaps some dry white wine and I like to add some lemon juice or a few slices of lemon. As for spices, again you can use whatever you have on hand or like such as garlic, basil, bay leaves, ground or whole peppercorns and perhaps some parsley. You can also cook carrots, onions and celery in the liquid before hand to give it even more flavour. You can get more creative by using more exotic herbs and spices like cilantro, hot peppers or hot pepper flakes, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and perhaps some Thai basil. You can poach in virtually any liquid, although the emphasis is usually on not adding much fat. The combinations and possibilities are endless. You might even want to try a light coconut milk mixed with chicken broth. You could add kaffir lime leaves, some freshly grated ginger and a little hot pepper flakes. It would be amazing served with an Asian influenced mixed green salad with a sesame dressing, or maybe sautéed vegetables and rice noodles! It’s easy to make a sauce out of the poaching liquid too. Simply boil down the liquid, or reduce it, slightly so the flavour is more enhanced and then add a thickener. This could be a little flour mixed with some olive oil, or you could also use instant flour, potato flour, cornstarch or whatever thickener you prefer. If using a liquid like coconut milk you might not need a thickener. Reducing the liquid so that it coats a spoon might be enough. If using a thickener be sure to stir it in with a whisk to help prevent lumps in the sauce. Good luck with poaching and let me know how it turns out for you.