Hainanese Chicken Rice

Silky poached chicken with fragrant rice cooked in the stock, with chilli and ginger sauces.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 1h 15m
Total: 1 hour 45 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 1 whole free-range chicken (about 1.6kg), at room temperature
  • For the poaching: about 3 litres water
  • 6 slices fresh ginger
  • 4 spring onions, tied into a knot
  • 2 tsp fine salt
  • For the rice: 300g jasmine rice
  • 2 tbsp chicken fat (from the cavity) or vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 450ml of the chicken poaching stock
  • 1 pandan leaf, knotted (optional, from Asian supermarkets)
  • For the chilli sauce: 3 red chillies, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2cm piece fresh ginger
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp chicken poaching stock
  • 1/2 tsp caster sugar and a pinch of salt
  • For the ginger sauce: 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 3 tbsp hot vegetable oil
  • To serve: 1 cucumber, sliced
  • Fresh coriander
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce mixed with 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Method

  1. Pull the fat from the chicken cavity and set aside. Rub the chicken all over with 1 tsp of the salt and rinse.

  2. Bring the water, ginger slices, spring onions and remaining salt to the boil in a pot that holds the chicken snugly. Lower the chicken in completely, return to the boil, then reduce the heat to the barest simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

  3. Turn off the heat, cover tightly and leave for 40 minutes. The thickest part of the thigh must reach at least 75°C and the juices must run clear. If not, return to a gentle simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

  4. Plunge the chicken into iced water for 10 minutes, then drain and rub with a little of the dark soy and sesame oil mix. Strain the stock and keep it hot.

  5. Render the chicken fat in a saucepan over a low heat for 5 minutes and discard the solids. Add oil if you have less than 2 tbsp. Fry the garlic and ginger for 1 minute until golden.

  6. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, drain and add to the pan, stirring for 2 minutes. Add 450ml of the hot stock and the pandan leaf, bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes off the heat.

  7. Blitz the chilli sauce ingredients in a small blender. For the ginger sauce, put the ginger, spring onions and salt in a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot oil.

  8. Chop the chicken through the bone and serve on the rice with the cucumber, coriander, both sauces and the soy dressing. Serve the rest of the hot stock in small bowls as a soup.