Poaching

Poaching involves cooking food in hot liquid without boiling it; the liquid should be heated to the point where it just barely trembles. Being a gentle method that doesn’t jostle the food about too much and helps retain moisture, poaching is ideal for seafood, which is relatively low in fat and has a delicate structure. Seafood is often poached in court bouillon (a vegetable stock with an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar added), stock, salted water or coconut milk (which may be flavoured with spice pastes to make curries).