What sous vide means, and why it keeps chicken breast tender

Slice a pan-fried chicken breast and you often find the problem at once: the outer layer is dry and stringy, the centre only just cooked. Sous vide, French for "under vacuum", gets round it by never letting the heat run ahead of the target, and it is the word you will see on several chicken dishes on our menu.

Water set to the final temperature

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland describes sous vide as food vacuum packed in a plastic pouch and heated in a temperature-controlled water bath for a defined length of time. Typical temperatures run from about 47 °C to 88 °C, held for a relatively long time.

In a hot pan the surface gets far hotter than the centre, so by the time the middle is done the outside has overcooked. In a sous vide bath the water is set to the temperature the food should reach, and the whole piece climbs to it slowly, edge to centre, and goes no further. The sealed pouch keeps the food in close contact with the water, which helps heat move in, and holds in the juices that would otherwise evaporate.

Why lean chicken stays juicy

Chicken breast has little fat to protect it. Overheated muscle proteins tighten and squeeze out water: that is the dry, stringy texture of overcooked chicken. A 2024 critical review in Foods describes how the vacuum seal and precise temperature control help meat keep its natural juices, and how long, gentle cooking can break down tougher connective tissue (collagen) without drying the meat.

How can 60 °C be safe?

Killing bacteria depends on temperature and time together. For general cooking, Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety recommends a core temperature of at least 75 °C for 30 seconds and treats 70 °C for 2 minutes or 65 °C for 10 minutes as equivalent. For sous vide it advises a core temperature of no less than 60 °C for 45 minutes, with the right combination depending on the food's texture, origin, thickness and weight. The lower the temperature, the longer the food has to stay there.

These Hong Kong guidance figures are quoted to explain the principle. They are not Thai rules and do not describe how any particular kitchen cooks.

Regulators flag specific weak points. Temperatures that are too low or times that are too short may leave pathogens or parasites alive, especially in fish. A vacuum pouch has no oxygen, and bacteria that grow without it, such as Clostridium botulinum, can survive and grow there. Food held for long periods between about 4 °C and 60 °C lets bacteria multiply, and some, like Listeria, grow slowly even in the fridge.

That is why professional sous vide relies on tested time and temperature combinations, quick cooling when the food is not served at once, and cold storage afterwards. The Foods review adds that the method has limits against some microorganisms and does not replace good hygiene.

Cooking it at home

Home sous vide devices can give excellent results if you keep to a few habits:

• take time and temperature settings from a reliable food safety source, not a social media recipe;
• treat chicken, fish and eggs with the most care, and more so when cooking for older people, pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system;
• eat the food straight away, or cool it quickly and keep it in the fridge;
• never leave pouches at room temperature before or after cooking.

The sous-vide chicken on our menu

Our menu describes the chicken in several dishes as sous-vide chicken, including these two. Calories and macros are on the cards. The full descriptions are in the current menu on our website; the assortment varies by machine.

Sous Vide Chicken with Vegetable Sauce & Rice

450 kcal · P 60 · F 3 · C 46

Per pack. Calculated from the recipe, not measured in a lab.

See the full menu →

Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms

495 kcal · P 43 · F 16 · C 40

Per pack. Calculated from the recipe, not measured in a lab.

See the full menu →

This article explains the method in general. It does not describe our kitchen process, cooking temperatures or packaging. What we can tell you is how to handle the meal you buy: meals in our machines are chilled, not frozen; every pack has a use-by date; packs carry reheating instructions, and our machines have a built-in microwave that heats the meal after purchase.

Chicken cooked this gently deserves an even reheat rather than a blast (even reheating). Its protein can be weighed against other dishes with the sum in comparing protein per portion, and vacuum and modified-atmosphere packs in general are a separate topic: sealed, vacuum and MAP packaging.