About this recipe
A whole chicken gently poached until only just cooked and plunged into iced water so the skin sets to a silky, jelly-lined tenderness, served at room temperature over rice cooked in the poaching stock with chicken fat, garlic and ginger. It is Hainanese in ancestry, developed through Singapore's hawker trade into the form widely associated with the city, and the whole point is that the chicken is POACHED and pale, not roasted. Three things carry it: the silkiness of the chicken, the savoury fragrance of the rice, and the trio of dips — a bright garlic-chilli sauce, grated ginger, and dark sweet soy.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 45 minutes
- Total
- 75 minutes
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Spice
- Mild (heat from the chilli dip)
Allergens Contains soy and wheat (soy sauce). Not halal in most hawker forms; see the halal-status field. Not vegetarian.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The chicken and stock
- 1 whole chicken, about 3 1/2 lb (1.6 kg), at room temperature
- 3 in (7.5 cm) fresh ginger, sliced
- 4 scallions, halved
- 1 whole head garlic, halved crossways
- 2 tbsp (36 g) salt
- Water to cover, about 5 qt (4.7 L)
- Ice, for the iced-water bath
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil, for rubbing the cooked chicken
The rice
- 2 cups (400 g) jasmine rice, rinsed until the water runs clear and drained
- 2 tbsp (28 g) rendered chicken fat, or 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 in (2.5 cm) fresh ginger, minced
- 2 pandan leaves, knotted (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of the reserved chicken poaching stock
- 3/4 tsp (4 g) salt
The garlic-chilli sauce
- 10 fresh red chillies, stems removed
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 in (2.5 cm) fresh ginger
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) lime juice
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) of the hot chicken stock
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
- 1 tsp (4 g) sugar
To serve
- Dark sweet soy sauce (kecap manis or thick caramel soy), for drizzling
- 3 tbsp (45 g) grated fresh ginger mixed with 2 tbsp (30 ml) hot oil and a pinch of salt
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- Fresh coriander sprigs
Equipment
- Large stockpot deep enough to submerge a whole chicken, at least 8 qt (7.6 L)
- Large bowl of iced water
- Rice cooker or medium saucepan with a tight lid
- Blender or mortar and pestle for the chilli sauce
Method
- Rub the whole chicken inside and out with 1 tbsp of the salt. Put the ginger slices, scallions and halved garlic head into the cavity.
- Bring the water to a boil in the stockpot with the remaining 1 tbsp salt. Lower the chicken in breast-side down, return to a bare simmer, then immediately turn the heat to its lowest setting, cover, and poach 30-35 minutes. The water should barely tremble, never boil.
- Check for doneness: the thickest part of the thigh should read 165°F (74°C) and the juices should run clear. Lift the chicken out, holding it so the cavity liquid drains back into the pot.
- Plunge the chicken straight into the bowl of iced water and leave it 5 minutes, adding more ice if needed. This sets the skin. Lift out, pat dry, and rub all over with the sesame oil. Rest at room temperature.
- Skim the fat from the top of the stock and reserve 2 tbsp for the rice. Keep the stock hot; taste and adjust the salt.
- Make the rice: heat the chicken fat in the rice-cooker pot or a saucepan over medium heat, fry the minced garlic and ginger 1 minute until fragrant, then add the drained rice and stir 2 minutes to coat every grain.
- Add 2 1/2 cups of the hot stock, the knotted pandan if using and the 3/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat 15 minutes, or run the rice cooker. Rest covered 10 minutes and fluff.
- Make the chilli sauce: blend the red chillies, garlic, ginger, lime juice, 3 tbsp hot stock, salt and sugar to a coarse sauce. It should be sharp, hot and loose.
- Cut the rested chicken into pieces through the bone, or carve it off the bone, and arrange on a platter. Drizzle a little dark sweet soy over the pieces.
- Serve the chicken at room temperature with the warm fragrant rice, the chilli sauce, the ginger-oil and extra dark soy in separate dishes, with cucumber and coriander. Offer a small bowl of the hot stock on the side.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Hainanese Chicken Rice sits in the Singapore chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Singapore chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.