Hainanese Chicken Rice

A) The chicken

Ingredients:

1 1.5 kg chicken
4 stalks Chinese spring onion
8 pieces ginger smashed (one inch square and 2 mm thick)
8 cloves garlic peeled and smashed

Salt for cleaning chicken

Method:
1. Use salt to clean the whole chicken and its cavity, then let it stand on a
colander to drip out water from the cavity
2. Use 4 stalks of spring onion, fold them into 4 inches lump, together with 4
pieces of smashed ginger and 4 cloves of garlic. Insert into chick cavity
3. Get a big pot (the best is to use a western stock pot which is high size), fill up
¾ of water (water level must be able to cover the whole chicken). Add the
remaining smashed garlic and ginger.
4. Boil the water, when it is boiling high, turn the fire off (if the fire is on the
chicken’s skin will be cooked at once and torn open) and put the chicken into
the pot, cover, then leave it for 20 minutes. In the mean time, have another big
pot filled up with cold tap water.
5. When the time is up, take out the chicken, dip it into pot with cold water, leave
it for 10 minutes.
6. Boil the hot water again, when it is boiling high, repeat the same process once
more, i.e. Turn off the fire then put in the chicken, (but this time is something
different) and cover the pot, then turn on a very low flame for 20 minutes
7. Now it is the second time to take out the chicken, dip it into the same pot of
cold water for 10 minutes.
8. Lastly, boil the water in the pot again, when boiling, off the fire, dip the
chicken into the hot water pot, covered for 20 minutes.
9. Do not pick up the chicken, use a kitchen knife to poke the inside part of the
chicken thigh; if there is no blood oozing, the chicken is done. If there is
blood, leave the chicken in the pot, covered for another 10 minutes, or until
done done.
10. Take out the chicken (no more cold water dip) and let it stand on a colander to
drip dry; when cool, brush sesame oil generously all over the chicken.

B) The chicken rice

Ingredients:
4cups rice (Siamese old rice so that the cooked rice will be fluffy)
¼ cup chicken oil (get it from the chicken cavity)
1 ½ tbsp garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsp ginger juice
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp salt
1 cube chicken essence or 1 tsp of Vetsin

Method:
Wash the rice, then let it drip-dry in a colander; put chicken oil in wok, when it is hot
fry the minced garlic till light brown. Add the rice, then fry evenly; now add the
ginger juice. Salt, chicken essence and sesame oil. When it is too dry in frying, add a
few tbsp of chicken soup from the pot of boiling chicken.
Transfer the rice into the cooker, add enough amount of chicken soup (as we cook
plain rice) into the rice and cook.

For garnish:
Cucumbers, spring onions, and fresh coriander leaves

To serve:
Chop the chicken into biting pieces, arrange them on top of cucumber slices in a large
platter. Cut the spring onions and fresh coriander leaves into 1 ½ inch length, then
scatter them over the chicken pieces.

Dipping sauce for chicken:

1. Mix ground chillies with ground ginger, add a little bit of salt, stir with few
tbsp of chicken soup and add some chicken oil.
2. Thick dark soya sauce