Hainan Chicken & Rice
This is hands down one of the best dishes I've made. In the past I've been a bit skeptical about Hainanese chicken rice -- at first glance it seems boring and uninteresting. But it's the subtle details that really makes it what it is. The fragrant ginger-garlic flavor that permeates every aspect of this dish. The juicy, moist chicken and the delightful chicken flavor in the rice (and the broth, which rounds everything out nicely) -- this is one of the more complete expressions of chicken and all its glory. Then there's the sauce, which is so delicious and goes well with literally everything (but especially poached chicken). This dish takes time and is a bit more involved, but it's well worth it. It's also infinitely scalable and great for larger parties!
Active Time: 45 min
Total Time: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients
chicken + broth
> chicken thighs (3, with skin + bone, about 1.5 lb)
> low-sodium chicken broth (8 cups)
> ginger (4-5 slices)
> green onion (3-4 stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces)
> msg (1 tsp)
> salt
rice
> uncooked rice (1 cup)
> chicken broth (1 1/4 cup, from above)
> shallot (2 tbsp, minced)
> garlic (2 tbsp, minced)
> ginger (1 tbsp, minced)
> fat trimmings from chicken thigh (from above)
sauce
> ginger (1 tbsp, minced)
> garlic (1 tbsp, minced)
> green onion (1.5 tbsp, minced)
> neutral oil (3 tbsp)
> soy sauce (1.5 tbsp)
> (optional) sriracha (1 tsp)
putting it together
> cucumber (sliced)
> (optional) sesame oil
> (optional) cilantro
> (optional) white pepper
Instructions
chicken + broth
1. Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for at least 20-30 min.
2. Scrub your chicken thighs well with kosher salt to exfoliate the skin, and rinse it with cold water (this helps make the skin smoother)
3. Trim off any and all excess fat + skin, and set aside. This will be used for the rice later.
4. Bring chicken broth up to a boil in a large pot with a fitted lid. Add the ginger slices + green onion. Add the chicken thighs into the pot, cover the pot with the lid, and turn off the heat. Cook using the residual heat for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165F at its thickest point.
5. Immediately submerge the chicken thigh in ice water for at least 10 minutes.
rice
1. Cut the fat trimmings from the chicken thighs into small pieces (<1cm). In a pan over medium-low heat, add the fat trimmings to the pan. They'll start to release oil into the pan.
2. Once the fat trimmings are golden in color, add the minced shallot, ginger, and garlic. Turn heat up to medium, and cook for ~3-4 minutes.
3. Add the rice, mix thoroughly, and add it to your rice cooker. Then add 1 1/4 cup chicken broth from above, and cook in a rice cooker.
sauce
1. In a heat-proof bowl, add finely minced ginger, garlic, and green onion.
2. Heat neutral oil in a small pan / pot until just before it starts to smoke. Carefully pour it into the bowl.
3. Add soy sauce and optionally a touch of sriracha. Mix well.
putting it all together
1. Remove the chicken thighs from the ice bath and dry with a paper towel. Take a knife and carefully cut off the bone. Optionally, brush some sesame oil over it. Cut the chicken thighs into slices, perpendicular to the bone.
2. Plate with the chicken, sliced cucumber, rice, and optionally top with some cilantro.
3. Warm up the chicken broth, and serve with a bowl of chicken broth on the side. Optionally add a touch of white pepper.
Notes/Tips:
> Scrubbing the chicken thighs with salt and submerging the chicken thigh in ice water helps achieve that perfectly smooth, bouncy skin texture.
> Do not add any oil to the pan when heating up the fat trimmings -- the fat trimmings will release plenty of oil themselves. Any additional oil will likely make the rice a bit too greasy.
> This is traditionally made with a while chicken, but I just use the chicken thighs for simplicity. It's also cheaper, and in my opinion tastier.
> Letting the chicken come to room temperature and cooking with the residual heat are essential to getting a uniform, perfectly tender cook throughout the chicken. Cooking at a boil or using chicken that's still frozen will either dry out the outer parts of the thigh or leave the interior still raw.
> Use a good quality chicken broth! Or if you happen to have leftover chicken broth from cooking up chicken soup, use that.
> My rice cooker takes about 1h to cook. So for the sake of time, I typically prioritize the rice. Once the broth is heating up, get the fat trimmings from the thighs first and start cooking it (as it takes a while for the fat to render). In the meantime, prepare the aromatics. etc.
> This is traditionally served with a variety of sauces, such as a chili sauce, a ginger garlic sauce, and a soy dipping sauce. I decided to make a hybrid of all of these, and it is so, so delicious. It goes well with literally everything.
> This dish is ethnically Chinese (from Hainan), but it's become one of the quintessential dishes of Singapore.