Hainanese Chicken Rice is a dish that’s quiet easy to make as soon as you have gotten the technique down. It’s a dish that has almost zero added fat (except for the oil used in the ginger sauce), and is very healthy and full of flavour. There are a lot of restos in the metro that serve this delectable dish, but if you feel like giving it a go in your kitchen, give this recipe a try. 🙂
Here goes….
This is a must when preparing your chicken for this dish. You must rub the outer skin of the chicken with rock salt and make sure to “exfoliate” the entire bird. This will ensure that the skin comes out shiny and glistening. 🙂 Be careful not to puncture the skin.
Make sure to wipe the chicken with paper towels. rub rock salt all over the chicken, giving it a good scrub. Don’t forget the back side too.Chop some leeks and ginger and place it in the cavity of the chicken. This will help infuse the chicken when we poach it.Place the Chicken in a stockpot over low heat. This step is very important. Please DO NOT allow the water to boil. Keep the water in a gentle simmer at ALL times. This is to ensure that the chicken stays moist.Remove any scum that comes to the surface and discard. Continue this process until all the scum is gone.
Submerging in ice. This step will make the chicken skin tighten and stick to it. This process is a bit daunting since you will have to do this about 4 times throughout the entire cooking process. A friend of mine told me that she does this up 15 times. I Don’t have the patience for that so, 4 times is good enough. 😛 Keep it in the ice for about 1 minute then place it back in the pot and continue cooking.
I know this may seem over the top, but I assure you this will make the skin nice and tight. 🙂
Keep repeating this process until the chicken is fully cooked. This will take about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the bird. To check if the chicken is cooked through, pierce the thigh area with a small knife and if juices run clear, the chicken i done. 🙂 Remember…. do not allow the broth to boil. keep it at a slow simmer. 😉
Nice and smooth 🙂 Set this aside and lets make our ginger sauce.
GINGER SAUCE:
Roughly chop Leeks (green and white parts) and Ginger. PLace them in a food processor and buzz until fine. You may add some oil to help the food pro out.Heat a skillet with some oil and add the processed leek and ginger mixture and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt. Please taste the ginger sauce and adjust according to your taste. This is my fave!
CHICKEN RICE:
Using the bowl of your rice cooker. place it on top of the stove over medium heat. Add oil and saute chopped onion for about 3 minutes, until softened. Add finely minced garlic and saute for another minute. Add uncooked rice and mix well. Add chicken stock (from the chicken we cooked earlier. Making sure to season it with some salt). Place the pot into the rice cooker base, cover and click to cook. Serve.
Quite lot of steps for this one dish, but once you’ve perfected the techniques, this will definitely be a regular at your dinner table 🙂 ENJOY!
Yuuuum!PLace in serving bowls and serve with Kecap Manis. (Thickend sweet soy) This can be found in all major supermarkets. I forgot to photograph the chilli sauce. My apologies. You may use your fave chilli sauce or hot sauce if you wish.
“FOOD NOURISHES THE BODY AS GOD’S WORD NOURISHES THE SOUL”
Purpose Driven Chef 
This looks really good pri!! Thanks for sharing 😃👍
My pleasure, Thess! =) Hugs!
pree – so for the chicken, that was it? you just cut it up and place on top of the rice? sorry i never had this b4 🙂
Tess, Yup! that simple! The ginger sauce and the sweetened soy sauce finishes it off. Maybe when you come and visit I will make this for you to try =)
I will definitely try this
Hi Bobbeck! Great! Let me know how you like it! 🙂
yum pri hope i can do this soon
Hi Michelle! I’m sure it will turn out great! Take photos 🙂