Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe

Azlin Bloor

Click here for the best Hainanese chicken rice recipe, made the
traditional way, plus an easier version. From a born and bred
Singaporean!

5 from 28 votes

PREP TIME COOK TIME COOLING/RESTING TIME

1 hr 1 hr 20 mins 10 mins

COURSE CUISINE SERVINGS CALORIES

Main Course Chinese, Singaporean 6 (4-6) depending on which 445 kcal
and Malaysian recipe

EQUIPMENT
1 large pot for poaching
1 pot or rice cooker
1 poultry hook or turkey holder
1 pestle and mortar or food chopper
1 small saucepan
bowls as required

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken (Whole Chicken)

1 chicken weighing about 1.5kg/3.3 lb
1 handful salt if you need to rub your chicken see article
6 chicken wings or 2 handfuls chicken bones
4 litres water
2 tsp salt
10 cm ginger
3 medium cloves garlic
 2 stalks spring onions (plus the green bits from the ginger-spring onion oil) (scallions)
1 star anise
10 black peppercorns
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

If Using Chicken Portions

4 chicken legs or large chicken breasts on the bone or chicken thighs on the bone
2.5 litres water
1½ tsp salt
7.5 cm ginger
2 medium cloves garlic
2 stalks spring onion (plus the green bits from the ginger-spring onion oil)
1 star anise
5 black peppercorns
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

Chicken Rice
500 g jasmine rice or any long grain
4 Tbsp vegetable oil canola oil, corn oil, etc
2 small shallots
7 medium cloves garlic
10 cm ginger
2 pandan leaves optional
poaching liquid/chicken stock from cooking the chicken amount depends on whether you're
cooking in a rice cooker or on the stove

Ginger-Garlic Chilli Sauce

6 red birds eye chillies or milder variety, same amount
5 cm ginger
4 large cloves garlic
1-2 tsp white sugar
½ tsp salt
125 ml poaching liquid
1 Tbsp rendered chicken fat
1 tsp rice vinegar

Ginger-Spring Onion Oil

5 cm ginger
3 stalks spring onions (white part only) scallions, aka green onion, green parts go in the stock
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
⅛ tsp salt

Soy Sauce Dressing

 3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 Tbsp chicken stock (the poaching liquid)

Chicken Rice Soup (the poaching liquid)

additional salt
ground white pepper
fresh coriander leaves cilantro

To Serve
1 small cucumber (more or less, up to you)
20 cherry tomatoes (or 3-4 regular)

INSTRUCTIONS

Poaching Whole Chicken

1. Bring the chicken out of the fridge at least 1 hour before starting, so it can come to room
temperature.

Fill a large pot (stock pots or spaghetti pots are great) with the water and bring to a boil. Add the
salt, star anise and black peppercorns.
2. If you want, you could rub some salt all over the chicken skin to smooth it out. This will remove
any tiny bit of feather that may be left behind. I don't usually bother as I don't need to.
3. Cut the parson's nose off the chicken (the triangular bit near its end) and discard. It can make
your stock a little bitter.

Remove the fat deposits from the chicken cavity near its tail and place in your smallest
saucepan.

4. Scrub the ginger well under running water and place in your food chopper or mortar. Peel and
add the garlic. Chop it to a fairly coarse stage and tip into the water.
 Roughly chop up the spring onions and drop into the water, along with the green ends from the
ginger-spring onion oil. Bring the water to a boil.
5. If you have poultry hooks, hook 1 under each wing, then lower the chicken into the hot water and
immediately reduce the heat to low. Allow the chicken to poach in this gently simmering water
for 40 minutes.

Ideally, you want the pot to be deep enough so that your chicken floats in the water. Or use
poultry hooks to hang the chicken off the side.

But don't worry too much about this, just ensure the chicken is breast side up, so we maintain the
integrity of the chicken skin on this end.

Poaching and Drying Chicken Portions - Easier Method

1. Bring the portions out of the fridge 1 hour before you start cooking, to come to room
temperature.

Fill a large pot (stock pots or spaghetti pots are great) with the water and bring to a boil. Add the
salt, star anise and black peppercorns.
2. Turn your chicken portions over and pull out any fat deposits you see under the skin, without
tearing the skin. This will be minimal if you're using chicken breast. You'll have the most fat
deposits with chicken thighs.

Place in a small saucepan.

3. Scrub the ginger well under running water and place in your food chopper or mortar. Peel and
add the garlic. Chop it to a fairly coarse stage and tip into the water.

Roughly chop up the spring onions and drop into the water, along with the green ends from the
ginger-spring onion oil. Bring the water to a boil.
4. Gently drop the chicken portions into the simmering water and reduce the heat to low and poach
for just 20 minutes for chicken legs, 15 for thighs, and 10 for chicken breasts.

This is why it's important that your portions are at room temperature.

5. Fill a large bowl, saucepan or your sink with water and drop in all the ice cubes.

When the time is up, gently scoop out the chicken portions and drop them into the ice bath.
6. After 10 minutes, lift them out and place them on a wire rack over a baking tray to catch the
drips. Skin side up.

Rub the sesame oil all over and leave to dry until you're ready to serve.
Render the Chicken Fat
1. Chop up your fat deposits into little pieces and place them in the smallest saucepan you have
with 4 Tbsp of vegetable oil or any neutral oil (flavourless). This oil is listed under Chicken Rice
in the ingredients above.

Because the fat we have won't be enough for our needs, the oil is there to add volume, giving us
flavoured fat.

You'll probably need even more oil if using chicken portions.

2. Render this fat over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time, until you have crispy bits
which means all the oil has been leached out of the fatty deposits.

Strain, keeping the oil for later. The crispy bits can be used as a topping for noodles if you like, or,
I actually sprinkle them over our finished chopped chicken when I'm serving it.
Ice Bath, Season and Dry the Chicken (Whole Chicken)
1. Fill a super large bowl, saucepan or your sink with water and drop in all the ice cubes.

Gently lift the chicken out of the simmering water and lower into the ice bath. This part can be
tricky, even with poultry hooks. One of the best way to do this is to run a thick ladle right through
the chicken's cavity and lift it out.

2. When the chicken is has had 10 minutes in the ice bath, lift it out using the poultry hooks and
hang it off something like your kitchen tap, see video/image.

Or use a turkey holder.

Read the article above for my diy poultry hook and hanging "station".

Leave your poaching liquid simmering away on medium-low while you're doing this.
 3. Rub the sesame oil all over the chicken and leave it hanging until you're ready to chop and serve.

Flavoured Oil for the Rice

1. Peel the shallots, garlic and ginger. Chop or pound 5 cm (2") ginger and 3 cloves garlic to a fine
mix. Take it out and set aside for the rice.
2. Place the rest of the ginger (5cm/2"), garlic (4 cloves) and shallots in the food chopper or mortar.
Chop or pound to get a coarse mix.
3. Remember the chicken fat rendering away? Even if it's not quite done, get most of the oil out and
pour it into a small frying pan. Leave behind about 1 Tbsp for our ginger-onion oil.

You want about 6 tablespoons of oil. So top it up with more oil if there isn't enough rendered oil.

If your chicken fat pieces are not quite crispy, leave them on for a few more minutes but keep
and eye on them.
4. Heat this oil over medium heat and fry the chopped aromatics for about 2-3 minutes until they
are a golden colour.
 Strain this flavoured oil into a small bowl using a metal strainer. Discard the solids.

Chicken Rice on the Stove Top

1. Rinse the rice and drain well. Place in your saucepan if not already in there. Remember the
minced garlic and ginger from earlier? Step 1 above. Tip that onto the rice.
2. Add 750ml of the poaching liquid (3 cups), the flavoured oil and salt. If using pandan leaves, tie
them up into a knot and add to the rice.

Give everything a stir and cook on high until all the liquid has evaporated and you can see steam
vents (holes) on the rice surface. This can take anything from 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the
initial temperature of your water. You know, summer, winter, tropics?

Reduce the heat for the poaching liquid to low at this point.

3. Briefly stir the rice and push the pandan leaves to the bottom.
 Cover with a lid and cook for 12 minutes. Then take it off the heat and leave to rest for 10
minutes before fluffing and stirring.

Chicken Rice in Rice Cooker

1. Rinse the rice and drain well. Place in your rice cooker. Remember the minced garlic and ginger
from earlier? Step 1 in Flavoured Oil. Tip that onto the rice.

Over the years, I've learnt not to rinse my rice in the rice cooker, as there may be particles that
can scratch it. You don't want to scratch your rice cooker, especially if it cost a pretty penny like
mine, Yum Asia Bamboo Rice Cooker.
2. 500g of rice would be 4⅓ rice cooker cups. So that's exactly how much chicken stock you're
going to need to cook your chicken rice in the rice cooker. Unless your rice cooker says
differently. Don't think it would but one never knows.

So add 4⅓ cups poaching liquid, the flavoured oil and the salt. If using pandan leaves, tie them
up into a knot and add to the rice.

Stir with a wooden spoon (or your rice cooker paddle) and turn it on to cook.

When done, leave to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing.

Reduce the heat for the poaching liquid to low at this point.

Ginger-Garlic Chilli Sauce

1. I do this with a mortar and pestle, but use a food chopper if you prefer.

Place the chillies, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon sugar and salt in your mortar or chopper. Pound or
chop until you have a fairly fine mix.
 2. Add the poaching liquid, rendered fat and rice vinegar and stir well.

Taste the chilli sauce. Add more sugar if you want or salt. It should be a pretty gingery and sweet
mix. Not too hot.

Now pour out into a bowl, ready to be served.

Ginger-Spring Onion Oil

1. Peel the ginger and chop up roughly, then place in the mortar or food chopper. Rinse your pestle
and mortar/chopper if using the same one.

Chop up the bottom lighter part of the spring onions roughly and add to the ginger, along with the
salt.

Pound to a semi coarse mix.

 2. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat until the oil is shimmering and hot.

Take it off the heat and immediately tip in the ground ginger mix in and stir well. Pour this
delicious oil mixture into a small dip bowl and set aside.

Soy Sauce Dressing

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Sambal Kicap
1. Click here for the recipe.
Chicken Rice Soup
1. By this time, when you've made everything else, your poaching liquid would have been simmering
away for 30 - 45 minutes. Or longer. So it should have reduced and be fairly flavoursome.

This is crucial. The soup accompanies your chicken rice and adds more flavour to the fairly plain
but aromatic rice.
2. Strain your soup into a fresh saucepan (I know, so much washing up).

Taste the soup and add more salt if required, along with a dash or two of white pepper.

To Serve Hainanese Chicken Rice

1. If using a whole chicken, chop up the chicken into serving portions and lay out on a platter.

I take the legs off, then split the chicken into two. Then, I pull the bone off to release the 2
chicken breasts.

Then everything gets chopped up with a cleaver or a large super sharp knife. Watch your fingers.
 2. Drizzle about 2 Tbsp of the dressing all over the chicken pieces.
3. Slice the cucumbers and halve the tomatoes and arrange on a side plate, or all around the
chicken. Drop a few coriander leaves (cilantro) over the chicken to look like a pro.
4. Dish up a portion of rice for each person on a plate, using a small bowl for the rounded look, if
you like.
5. Place your chopped chicken, rice and vegetables on the dinner table.
6. Now bring the soup to the table and pour into individual bowls and top with a coriander leaf.
7. Bring all the dipping sauces and the rest of the dressing to the table. Everyone helps themselves
to the sauces with their own soup bowls next to them.

NUTRITION
Serving: 1chicken portion (leg, breast) Calories: 445kcal Carbohydrates: 44g
Protein: 24g Fat: 19g Cholesterol: 50mg Sodium: 975mg
Potassium: 300mg

KEYWORD
chicken rice, hawker food, nasi ayam, streetfood, zichar

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