This very famous rice dish from Southeast Asia consists of four components, chicken, broth, rice and dipping condiments. You start with poaching chicken and this step takes care of the rest. Pretty smart (and economical), huh?
Traditionally made with a whole chicken but I used chicken thighs and legs here. Partly because I feel it's easier to gauge the time needed, partly because it's easier to fit in a cooking vessel, partly because I found legs on sale...
Hainanese chicken rice
To poach the chicken
- 8 pieces of chicken thighs or legs
- 10cm-long ginger piece, peeled and cut into strips
- 4 stalks of green onions, cut in halves
- 2 tablespoons of rice wine (optional)
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of salt (to taste)
- water (I used 2L)
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil mixed with 1/4 tsp of salt
Place chicken, ginger, green onions, rice wine and salt in a large pot. Pour in freshly boiled water from a kettle to submerge the chicken completely. Bring the pot back to boil and lower the heat to simmer with lid on for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the chicken poach for another 30-45 minutes. Do not remove the lid.
Cool the chicken completely in the broth. Remove the chicken. The meat should be tender enough to remove from the bones if wish. Brush the skin with salted sesame oil.
To cook the rice
- 1 tablespoon of oil (or chicken fat)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- a thumb size of ginger, minced or grated
- 2 cups of basmati rice (jasmine is traditional), washed, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
- 2 cups of chicken poaching liquid
- 1/2 tsp of turmeric (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Stir fry the garlic and ginger in oil. Stir in the drained rice. Gently turn the rice a few rounds so that each grain is coated with aromatic oil. Pour in 2 cups of poaching liquid and stir in salt. Bring the pot back to rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 11 minutes with lid on. After 11 minutes, turn the heat off completely. Rest the rice with lid on for 4 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice. Let the cooked rice steam off for 10 more minutes and mix with the sesame oil before serving.
For dipping sauces:
For Green onion and ginger sauce
- 2 tablespoons of grated/finely minced ginger
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 4 stalks of green onions (or more), finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 cup any neutral oil
This is the star sauce for me. If you have time/patience for one sauce, go for this. The ratio of ginger and green onions can be adjusted to your taste.
Put ginger, garlic, green onions and salt in a heat resistant bowl.
Heat oil in a saucepan until hot but not smoking, and carefully pour on top of ginger mixture. When the sizzling stops, stir a couple times and then let it cool.
At this point you can store it in a container in your fridge up to a couple weeks.
For Soy garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon of Green onion and ginger sauce
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of vinegar
For Chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons reserved chicken poaching broth
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons sriracha chili sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- a thumb size of ginger, grated
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