Recipe: Hainan Chicken Rice

Who doesn’t love themselves a good old bowl of Hainanese Chicken rice?

Based on the Hainanese dish, Wenchang chicken (文昌雞), Hainanese Chicken Rice is an extremely popular dish predominant in Hainanese, Singaporean and Malaysian Cuisine. Loved by all, this dish is considered a national dish in Singapore and a culinary staple of Malaysia.

The feeling of sitting by the side of the road, going down on a big bowl of rice with some Hainanese Chicken and soup on the side is reminiscent of childhood days. Unfortunately, we can’t always recreate that feeling — especially when we’re out of town, or overseas.

But, if you ever start craving for the delicious taste of Hainanese Chicken rice, don’t worry! Here is a simple-to-understand Hainan Chicken Rice recipe for you to try at home!

Hainan Chicken Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

• Rice

• • 3 cups of uncooked washed rice
  • 5 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
  • 4 finely chopped shallots
  • 2 + 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp of chicken broth
  • 4-6 blades of pandan leave screwpine leaves
  • 1 small thumb of ginger cleaned and bruised
  • 1 tbsp of the garlic and shallot oil
  • 70 g of chicken fats
  • 1 + 1/2 tsp salt to taste

• Chicken

  •  1 whole chicken, preferably free-range organic chicken
  •  1 small thumb of ginger cleaned and bruised
  •  5-6 stalks of scallion washed
  •  10 bowls chicken stock adjust accordingly
  •  4-6 pandan leaves
  •  1 carrot roughly chopped
  •  2 + 1 tsp of salt
  •  10 bowls of cold water
  •  1 cucumber peeled, halved and sliced diagonally

Cooking Method:

• Chicken

1. 1. To clean the chicken, rub salt all over to remove any loose skin. Wash it well, inside and out, and pat dry with kitchen towels.
   2. Stuff ginger and scallion into the chicken cavity and rub another layer of salt when dry.
   3. In a stockpot the size of the chicken, boil the chicken stock together with pandan leaves, carrots and salt.
   4. Place the chicken in the stockpot for 35-45 minutes on low heat, breast side down.
   5. Once cooked, immediately place the chicken in cold water for 10 minutes. This is to ensure the chicken skin is springy when eaten. Keep the chicken broth for later use.
   6. Drain the chicken, remove the ginger and scallion from the chicken cavity, and leave to cool. Chop to preferred serving size once cooled down.

• Rice

1. 1. Fry chopped shallots and garlic in the wok until fragrant and golden in colour. Add uncooked rice onto the wok and stir well.
   2. Once done, transfer mixture into a rice cooker. Add in the chicken broth, salt, pandan leaves, ginger, garlic and shallot oil, and chicken fats into the rice mixture — Cook rice as per rice cooker instructions.

• Chicken Rice

1. 1. Line a plate with cucumber slices, and place the chicken next to the rice. Serve warm with a small bowl of soup and some chilli and soy sauce on the side, enjoy!
   2. Note: leftover chicken broth can be used as side soup. Just add some fishballs, veggies, and you’re good to go!

Are you looking for Hainanese chicken rice? Why not order from some local Chinese stores on the foodpanda app today! The foodpanda app offers a variety of cuisines and delivers straight to your doorstep.

If you like chicken rice dishes, you can also try making this Veggie Basil Chicken Rice or Claypot Chicken Rice!