Hainanese chicken rice
Nasi ayam Hainan — silky poached chicken, ginger-garlic rice and chilli sauce
Brought by Hainanese cooks and now sold at kopitiam and hawker stalls in every Malaysian town, chicken rice looks plain but is all about restraint. The chicken is barely simmered and plunged into iced water, which leaves the meat silky and the skin firm and slightly jellied. The rice is fried in rendered chicken fat with garlic, ginger and pandan, then cooked in the poaching stock until each grain is glossy and fragrant. A punchy chilli-ginger-lime sauce and a bowl of the clear broth complete the plate, with cucumber slices on the side. Chef's tip: keep the poaching water at a bare shiver, never a boil; boiling tightens the meat and splits the skin.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 ½ lb whole chickenat room temperature for 30 min; remove excess fat from the cavity and keep it
- 2 tbsp salt1 tbsp to rub the bird, the rest split between rice and sauce
- 2 ⅛ oz fresh ginger40 g sliced for the pot, 20 g for the rice
- 4 spring onionsknotted
- 3.5 litres waterenough to cover the chicken
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp tamariuse tamari to keep the dish gluten-free; ordinary light soy sauce contains wheat
For the rice
- 14 oz jasmine ricewashed until the water runs clear, drained well
- 6 cloves garlic4 finely chopped for the rice, 2 for the sauce
- 3 pandan leaves (optional)knotted
For the chilli sauce
- 6 fresh red chilliesroughly chopped
- 3 tbsp calamansi or lime juice
- 2 tsp sugar
To serve
- 1 cucumbersliced
- 2 ¼ lb ice cubesfor the ice bath
- 1 handful coriander leaves (optional)
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Method
0/12 doneStep 1: Rub the 3 ½ lb whole chicken all over with 1 tablespoon of the 1 tbsp salt, scrubbing the skin lightly, then rinse. This cleans the skin and makes it smoother after poaching. Use a board you keep for raw poultry.
Step 2: In a pot just big enough to hold the bird, bring 3.5 litres water to the boil with 40 g of the 1 ⅜ oz fresh ginger (sliced) and 4 spring onions. Lower in the chicken breast side down; the water should cover it.
10 minStep 3: When the water returns to a bare simmer, turn the heat down so only a few bubbles rise. Poach for 35–40 minutes, lifting the chicken out by the cavity twice to drain and refill it with hot water, so the inside cooks too.
38 minStep 4: Check the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, with a thermometer: it must read 165°F (165 °F), and the juices from a skewer hole should run clear. If not, poach 5 minutes more and check again. Don't trust the timer alone; bird sizes vary.
Step 5: Lift the chicken straight into a large bowl of water and 2 ¼ lb ice cubes for 10 minutes. This stops the cooking and sets the skin. Drain, brush with half the 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil and rest it while the rice cooks. Keep the poaching stock simmering.
10 minStep 6: Meanwhile, render the reserved chicken fat in a pan over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes (or use 3 tbsp of the oil skimmed from the stock). Add 4 cloves of the 4 cloves garlic and the remaining ¾ oz fresh ginger, finely chopped, and fry for 1 minute until fragrant, not brown.
6 minStep 7: Add the drained 14 oz jasmine rice and stir for 2–3 minutes until every grain is coated and slightly translucent at the edges. Tip into a rice cooker or heavy pot with 600 ml of the hot stock, 1 teaspoon of the ⅓ tbsp salt and the 3 pandan leaves if using.
3 minStep 8: Cook in the rice cooker, or bring to the boil, cover tightly and cook over the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.
25 minStep 9: For the sauce, blend 6 fresh red chillies, the remaining 2 cloves of 2 cloves garlic, 3 tbsp calamansi or lime juice, 2 tsp sugar, a pinch of the ⅛ tbsp salt and 3 tablespoons of hot stock to a coarse, bright sauce.
Step 10: Season the remaining stock with the rest of the ⅝ tbsp salt to taste for the side soup.
Step 11: Mix the rest of the 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil with 2 tbsp tamari and 2 tablespoons of stock. Chop the chicken through the bone into pieces, or carve it, and spoon this over the top.
Step 12: Serve the chicken with mounds of rice, 1 cucumber, coriander if you like, the chilli sauce and a small bowl of hot broth each.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 760 kcal
- Protein
- 50 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hainanese chicken rice take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 65 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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