Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese
Chicken Rice

Serves 6
Adapted from Steamy Kitchen

Hainanese chicken rice is one of Singapore’s national dishes. There are four parts to the dish: the chicken (served at room temperature), the rice, the soup, and of course the delicious sauces that bring everything together. I’ve included the recipe for a ginger sauce, however I’ve often had chicken rice without it, if you don’t feel like making it.

For the chicken:
1 whole chicken,
(preferably free range organic chicken)
1 small thumb of ginger,
cleaned and bruised
5-6 stalks of scallions
about 10 cups chicken stock,
adjust accordingly
4 blades of pandan leaves
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 tbsp kosher salt
1-2 tbsp sesame oil

For the Chicken Rice:
3 cups uncooked washed Jasmine rice
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
4 finely chopped shallots
1 tsp sesame oil
2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp chicken broth
4-6 blades of pandan leaves*
1 small thumb of ginger,
cleaned and bruised
3 tbsp chicken fat
salt, to taste

For the Chili Sauce:
4 tbsp Sriracha chile sauce or Sambal Oelek*
4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp chicken broth
1-2 tbsp lime juice, to taste

For the Ginger Sauce:
2 1/2 tbsp ginger, grated
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tbsp of scallion, finely sliced
1 tbsp of lime juice
1 tbsp of chicken stock
pinch of salt (to taste)

To Serve:
sliced cucumbers
cilantro sprigs
Kecap manis* (dark sweet soy sauce)

*Available in Asian grocery stores.

For the chicken: Scrub chicken with a handful of kosher salt and rub salt over chicken for smoother skin. Stuff ginger and scallions into the chicken’s cavity.

In a large stockpot, add whole chicken and fill with enough chicken stock and water to cover chicken by one inch. Add pandan leaves, and carrots.

Bring to a boil and then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Make sure not to overcook the chicken. After the chicken reaches around 170°F (around 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken), plunge chicken into an ice water bath for 10 minutes. The ice bath stops the cooking process and tightens the skin. Keep chicken broth for later use.

Drain chicken, discard ginger and scallion from the cavity and set aside to cool. Chop chicken neatly into desired serving size. Drizzle with sesame oil.

For the chicken rice: Heat oil in wok, fry shallots and garlic till fragrant and golden. Add rice and stir well for two minutes. Stir in sesame oil. Transfer the rice mixture to rice cooker.

Add chicken broth, pandan leaves, ginger, chicken fat and salt into rice mixture. Cook according to rice cooker’s manual instruction.

For the chili sauce: Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until well combined.

For the ginger sauce: Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until well combined.

For the soup: Heat up the reserved poaching broth, taste and season with salt as necessary. Garnish with cilantro and scallions.

To Serve: Line serving plate with cucumber slices. Arrange chicken pieces on top and garnish with cilantro. Serve with chicken rice, bowl of soup and the sauces (Kecap manis/dark soy sauce, chili sauce, and garlic sauce)