Low temperature cooking - Anova Precision Cooker

I have been curious about low temperature cooking, how to cook meat to come out juicy and tender. This could only be achieved with a controlled temperature heater - new toy!

Anova Precision Cooker

The best and simplest model is this Anova Precision Cooker, it could be used with any kitchen cooking pot, with water as the heating medium. It has a heating range of 30 to 99˚C, with a fan to ensure circulation in the pot so that temperature is the same throughout.
 

Low temperature cooked pork loin in spicy pomelo green bean salad

Cooking involves putting ingredients in a sealed plastic bag to be soaked in water bath. So the first job is to find 'Ziploc' bags that are safe to use for low temperature cooking (available in the market for below 80˚C).

Wrapped in baking paper with chili marinate

To be doubly safe, I packed ingredients in baking paper or lotus leaf to minimize direct contact with plastic bag. 

wrapped in lotus leaf with curry paste sauce

My initial observation is that all meat could be cooked at 60˚C for a juicy tender result, it just need to be cooked much longer than normal high temperature cooking, to ensure that the meat is safe to eat, like 30minutes for fish, 1hr for chicken, 1.5hr for pork, for roughly 1cm thick pieces, consult temperature guide to be sure.
  

low temperature cooked chicken in curry sauce

The beauty of low temperature cooking is that there is no worry of overcooking, as protein will not shrink and dry out at such temperature. This means that on top of having a good juicy result, this is a particularly useful cooking method when inviting people for dinner.

Low temperature cooked chicken breast marinated with salt, ginger and spring onion

Second observation is that for white meat like chicken breast and fish, it is better to marinate for at least 12 hours to get the best result. If cooked fresh, they are soft and mushy, not how I like them. 

low temperature cooked chicken breast and thigh, salted overnight

As bacteria only present on the surface of meat, another safe way is to quickly blanch or sear the outside surface before cooking in low temperature water bath.