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Hainanese Chicken Rice
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Picture of Hainanese Chicken Rice
Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chicken rice is one of Singapore's signature dishes. The dish consists of four parts: poached chicken, aromatic chicken-flavoured rice, a light soup with Chinese vegetables, and three dipping sauces, ¾ sesame-soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and gingered oil dipping sauce. Traditionally, the chicken is served with skin and bones attached.

Hainanese Chicken
1 fresh chicken (2½ pounds)
1 teaspoon salt
5 quarts water
4 1-inch chunks ginger, slapped with the side of the cleaver

Aromatic Chicken-Flavoured Rice
2 cups long-grain rice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)
1 tablespoon finely minced peeled ginger
5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2½ cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 pandan leaf (optional), tied into a knot

Dipping Sauces
Sesame-soy dipping sauce (Makes ¼ cup)
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (Kwong Hung Seng brand)

Chile-ginger sambal (Makes ¼ cups)
½ small lime
10 cloves garlic, peeled
4 1-inch chunks ginger, peeled and sliced
12 fresh red serrano chiles
¼ cup rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
½ cup white vinegar

Gingered oil dipping sauce (Makes ¼ cup)
1 tablespoon grated or finely peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups Chinese cabbage in 1-inch dice
2 green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices, for garnish
Fresh coriander leaves

Procedure:

  1. Remove the fat from the chicken cavity and set it aside.
  2. Rub the chicken thoroughly inside and out with the 1 tablespoon of salt; set aside for 1 hour.
  3. If you want to use the chicken fat to cook the rice (step 12), put it in a small saucepan; cook on medium-low heat to render 3 tablespoons of fat. Set aside.
  4. Bring the water and ginger to boil in a stockpot.
  5. Add the chicken.
  6. Bring to a second boil and skim off and discard the scum that rises to the surface.
  7. If the chicken is not entirely submerged, add enough water to cover it.
  8. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
  9. Carefully remove the chicken to a large bowl filled with cold water; set aside and allow the chicken to cool.
  10. Keep the stock warm.
  11. When the chicken is cool, drain it and set aside. (If you are not continuing with the recipe right away, refrigerate both the chicken and the stock. Reheat the stock to continue the recipe.)
  12. To make the aromatic chicken-flavoured rice, put the rice in a large bowl and rinse it with cold water until the water runs clear.
  13. Drain thoroughly.
  14. Heat the rendered chicken fat, or oil if you prefer, in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  15. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté lightly until aromatic, about 1 minute.
  16. Do not brown.
  17. Add the drained rice and sesame oil; sauté for 1 minute.
  18. Add 2½ cups of chicken stock and salt.
  19. Boil over high heat until there is no water left on the surface of the rice.
  20. Place the pandan leaf on top.
  21. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer until steam no longer seeps through the cover, about 10 minutes.
  22. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to stand for another 10 minutes; do not remove the cover. Meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce.
  23. To serve, chop the chicken Chinese-style into bite-size pieces with the skin and bone attached.
If serving lunch for two, divide the chicken into two plates; otherwise, arrange the pieces on a platter. Keep it covered until ready to serve. Strain the remaining chicken stock into a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the Chinese cabbage. When it begins to wilt, serve about 1 cup of soup of cabbage per person. Sprinkle the green onions on top. Garnish the chicken plate with cucumber slices and coriander leaves and serve with a bowl of hot aromatic chicken-flavoured rice and the dipping sauces.

Dipping sauces:

  1. Sesame-soy dipping sauce:
    1. Mix the oil and soy sauce together thoroughly.
    2. Pour into dipping saucers.

  2. Chile-ginger sambal:
    1. Rinse the lime before cutting it.
    2. Cut the lime half into wedges (leave the skin on).
    3. Puree the wedges in a blender of food processor with the garlic, ginger, and chiles.
    4. Heat the fats in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
    5. Add the puree and cook for 5 minutes.
    6. Remove the pans from the heat and stir in the sugar and vinegar.
    7. Put about 1 tablespoon of sambal in a dipping saucer for each dinner.

  3. Gingered oil dipping sauce:
    1. Mix the ginger and salt in a heatproof bowl.
    2. Slowly heat the oil in a saucepan until it is hot but not smoking.
    3. Test the oil by slowly pouring a small amount over the ginger salt mixture.
    4. If it does not sizzle, stop, return the saucepan to the stove, and continue heating the oil until it is hot enough to sizzle on contact with the ginger.
    5. Serve in dipping saucers.
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