Thai Boiled Chicken

Name: Thai Boiled Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4.25 cup water; 5 clove garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a knife; 3 fresh coriander root, washed and chopped; 2 stalk lemongrass stalks, bruised and cut into 3-inch pieces; 5 slice fresh galangal slices, about ¼-inch thick; 4 tbsp fish sauce; 0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce (for color); 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp ground white pepper; 1.5 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar; 1.3 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Thai Poached Chicken in Fragrant Herb Broth

Chicken thighs gently simmer in a deeply aromatic broth built from galangal, lemongrass, and coriander root. This gentle cooking method keeps the meat incredibly tender while infusing it with layers of Thai herbs and umami from fish sauce.

ThaiAsianDinnerGluten FreeDairy FreeComfort FoodOne PotChicken

Prep10 min

Cook45 min

Total55 min

Servings4

Difficultyeasy

Ingredients

4¼ cupwater
5 clovegarlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a knife
3 fresh coriander root, washed and chopped
2 stalklemongrass stalks, bruised and cut into 3-inch pieces
5 slicefresh galangal slices, about ¼-inch thick
4 tbspfish sauce
½ tbspdark soy sauce (for color)
2 tbsplight soy sauce
1 tspground white pepper
1½ tbsppalm sugar or brown sugar
1⅓ lbbone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Instructions

Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with the water and place over medium heat. Drop in the smashed garlic, coriander root, lemongrass pieces, and galangal slices. Cover the pot and bring everything to a rolling boil — this will take about 10 minutes and helps extract maximum flavor from the aromatics.
Once boiling, add the fish sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, and palm sugar to the pot. Stir everything together until the sugar completely dissolves, about 30 seconds. The broth should taste balanced — salty, slightly sweet, with a gentle heat from the white pepper.
Carefully nestle the chicken thighs into the simmering broth in a single layer. They should be about half-submerged — don't worry if they're not completely covered. Cover the pot with a lid to trap the steam and maintain gentle heat circulation.
Lower the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer — you want just a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface. Cook for 45 minutes total, flipping the thighs once at the halfway point so both sides absorb the flavors evenly. The chicken is done when it easily pulls away from the bone and the juices run clear.
⏱ 45 min
Remove the pot from heat and let the chicken rest in the warm broth for several minutes — this final resting keeps the meat juicy. Serve the chicken with jasmine rice and ladle some of the fragrant cooking broth over everything.