Hainanese Chicken Rice
Hainese chicken rice is a dish of poached chicken and seasoned rice served with chilli sauce and usually with cucumber to garnish.
The rich flavour of the rice comes from the grains that have been pre-fried in chicken fat and then cooked in chicken broth. The chicken is poached until it is just cooked.
It was created by immigrants from Hainan in southern China and adapted from the Hainanese dish Wenchang chicken. it is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore and is most commonly associated with Singaporean cuisine, being widely available in most food courts and hawker centres around the country.
Ingredients:
Whole chicken around 1;5 kg 1/4cup kosher salt (60g) or less 4-inch fresh ginger peeled and cut into ¼ inch (6mm) slices 1 bunch fresh scallion (spring onion) 4 litres of cold water 2 tablespoon of sesame oil
Hainese rice:
2 to 3 tablespoons of sesame oil 1 to 2 tablespoons of chicken fat(chopped) 2 cloves of garlic 2 Tto 3 slice of ginger (every slice around 6mm) 1 tablespoon of salt 2 cups of long grain rice 400g (but normally I used jasmine rice) rinsed and drained 2 cups reserved chicken poaching broth (480ml) pandan leaves (this is optional)
Chilli sauce:
2 teaspoons of sugar 5 to 6 large red chillies (depends on how spicy you want) 2 to 3 cloves of garlic 3 to 4 inch of fresh ginger (chopped) 1 lemon or lime juice 2 tablespoons of reserved chicken broth ½ teaspoon of salt
*put the ginger, chillies, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt and broth to the blender and blend them all together until incorporated.
Preparation:
1. Clean the whole chicken rub all over with a handful of kosher salt, getting rid of any loose skin. Rinse the chicken well inside and out. Pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Remove any excess fat from the chicken and set aside for later.
3. Season the chicken cavity with ginger slices and scallions.
4. Place the chicken in a large stock pot cover with cold water by 1 inch (2cm) and season with salt to taste.
5. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then immediately reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (75°C) remove the pot from the heat.
6. Remove the chicken from the pot reserving the poaching liquid for later and transfer to an ice bath for 5 minutes to stop the cooking process and to keep the chicken skin springy. Discard the ginger and scallions.
7. After it’s cool down pat the chicken dry with paper towels and rub all over with sesame oil. This will help preventing the chicken from drying out.
8. In a large wok or skillet, heat 2 to 3 tablespoon of sesame oil over a medium heat. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of reserved chopped chicken fat, the garlic, ginger, and salt stir fry until aromatic about 4 to 5 minutes. Then add the rice and stir fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Transfer the rice to a rice cooker or pot (if you don’t have rice cooker like me. ) and add 2 cups (480 ml) of reserved chicken broth. Cook the rice for 25 minutes or until tender.
10. While the rice is cooking carve or cut the chicken for serving.
11.Make the chilli sauce; put the garlic, ginger, chicken broth, chopped chilies, sugar, lemon or lime juice, and salt to taste. Blend them all until incorporated.
12.Serve the sliced chicken with rice, dipping sauce and slice of cucumber. Enjoy eating!
