Hainanese Chicken Rice

The hainanese chicken rice is pretty much a staple sight in the food halls, food courts and the modest "coffee shops" in Malaysia and Singapore. The key to a good chicken rice is obviously moist tender chicken, good chilli sauce (and other sauces) and aromatic chicken rice.

It is actually not that difficult to make a good chicken rice at home. Especially in the modern household where the food processor has replaced the function of the mortar and pestle and all the arm toning work of pounding on the ingredient until you get the desired fine-ness. So go ahead and give it a try! Here's how. Hope you'll enjoy the chicken rice! :)


Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ingredients for the chicken:

• 1 large chicken
• 4-5 stalks of spring onions, sliced into 3" pces
  
• 3" of ginger, sliced
  
• water
• salt to taste

Method for preparing chicken:

1. clean chicken thoroughly and stuff with ginger and spring onions
2. immerse in a deep pot and fill with water (until water's height is an inch above the chicken)
3. bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer the chicken for 30mins or so, until cooked
4. add salt to the broth to taste
5. remove chicken from the broth immediately once cooked, and run in a cold water bath (stops the cooking process to retain tenderness/moisture)

Ingredients for ginger sauce:

• 4 - 5" of sliced ginger (including ginger used to cook the chicken)
• ladle of chicken broth
• 2 - 3 cloves of minced garlic
• pinch of salt

Method to prepare the ginger sauce:

1. Process the ginger in the food processor
2. add in the minced garlic and broth
3. add the salt and mix well
   

Ingredients for the chilli sauce:

• a bunch of chillis (sorry, i fogot to measure how much)
  
• 1 ladle of the chicken broth from above
  
• 4 - 6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 - 1.5" of ginger, minced
  
• 1t of sesame oil
• 1/2 a lime juice
  
• pinch of salt

Method to prepare the chilli sauce:

1. use a food processor and process the chilli
2. add in the garlic and ginger, sesame oil, lime juice and the broth
3. add the salt and mix well
   

Ingredients for the chicken rice:

• 3 cups of rice (rice cup, not measuring cup)
  
• sufficient chicken broth from above to cook rice (depends on the type of rice)
  
• 6 - 8 cloves of minced garlic
• 4 cloves of garlic, skin removed
• 2t of sesame oil
  
• 1" of ginger, minced
• chicken fat
• vegetable oil (optional)

Method to prepare the chicken rice:

1. Heat the wok till hot
2. Add in the chicken fat (and veggie oil, if used) and sizzle it.
3. add in the aromatics - minced garlic (stir briefly and then followed by the), minced ginger
4. add in the rice and sesame oil, stir fry briefly to coat rice with the oil and aromatics
5. Transfer the rice to the rice cooker, add in the 4 cloves of garlic and mix well
6. Add in the chicken broth
7. Cook the rice as per usual