My Home-Made Chicken Ham has a simple flavouring, but it is so juicy and tender that you won't want to buy sliced chicken ham from supermarket anymore. It is not like a processed chicken ham but rather a sous vide chicken. But Japanese people call it ‘tori hamu’, meaning chicken ham, because the texture is similar to the pressed chicken ham (but better!). See the video.
I listed two different methods of making Tori Hamu.
Cook Time assumes a rice cooker is used.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 1 chicken breast (300-350g/0.7-0.8lb, skin off)
- 1500-2000ml/3.2-4.2pt boiling water (note 1)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp dashi powder
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Trim off the string of fat and thin blood veins if they are on the surface of the chicken.
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Put the chicken and all the Marinade ingredients in a zip lock bag.
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Massage the bag well, ensuring that Marinade ingredients are mixed and have coated the meat evenly.
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Remove as much air as possible out of the bag and seal it.
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Place the bag of chicken in the inner bowl of your rice cooker.
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Add the boiling water to the inner bowl, ensuring that the chicken is submerged in water.
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Close the rice cooker and turn the Warm Mode switch on. Leave it for 45 minutes.
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Remove the bag from the water and take the chicken piece out of the bag (note 5).
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Put the boiling water in a pot over high heat, then place the bag in the water, ensuring that the whole chicken piece is submerged in the water.
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When the water starts boiling again, turn the heat off. Place a lid on and leave it for 1 hour (don't move the pot from the burner).
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Remove the bag from the water and take the chicken piece out of the bag (note 5).
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Cut the chicken into thin slices.
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Place the sliced chicken on a serving plate, with julienned cucumbers or green salad (not in ingredients list).
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Dribble the Sesame Sauce over the chicken.
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Put sesame paste and soy sauce in a small bowl and mix well.
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Add vinegar, sugar, and ginger juice to the bowl and mix well.
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Add a few drops of rāyu (if using) and mix.
1. You need a minimum 1500ml/3.2pt of boiling water to cook a 300-350g/0.7-0.8lb breast fillet. If the water is less than this, the water temperature reduces too fast before the chicken gets cooked through.
My rice cooker needed 1800ml/3.8pt of boiling water to comfortably submerge the chicken in the water.
If you are using a pot, the quantity of water can vary depending on the size of your pot. For the 23cm/9 1⁄16" saucepan that I used, I needed 2000ml/4.2pt water. If you use a smaller pot you can reduce the volume of boiling water, but no less than 1500ml/3.2pt.
If you are making 2 breast fillets of the similar size, you will need minimum 2000ml/4.2pt of boiling water.
2. If you are fond of herbs, you can add a small amount of basil or oregano.
3. I used Carwari brand sesame paste, but you can use Chinese sesame paste or tahini. Chinese sesame paste (see the sample photo in the post) is darker in colour and the nutty flavour is stronger. Tahini is made from raw sesame seeds and the sesame flavour is not as strong as others.
4. You can substitute rāyu with Chinese chilli oil.
5. The marinade has a good flavour and can be used to pour over the chicken instead of using the Sesame Sauce. Put the marinade through a sieve to remove chicken bits.
6. Nutrition per serving. It is assumed that 1/2 of the marinade is absorbed into the chicken.
Chicken without Sesame Sauce:
serving: 162g calories: 186kcal fat: 4g (5%) saturated fat: 0.9g (4%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.7g monounsaturated fat: 1.1g cholesterol: 110mg (37%) sodium: 660mg (29%) carbohydrates: 0.2g (0%) dietary fibre: 0g (0%) sugar: 0g protein: 34g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 9mg (1%) iron: 0.6mg ( 3%) potassium: 513mg (11%)
Sesame Sauce:
serving: 30g calories: 109kcal fat: 8g (10%) saturated fat: 1.1g (6%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 3.5g monounsaturated fat: 3g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 297mg (13%) carbohydrates: 7.7g (3%) dietary fibre: 0.8g (3%) sugar: 4.2g protein: 3g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 23mg (2%) iron: 0.7mg (4%) potassium: 93.1mg (2%)