Growing up, I would hear my mum and aunty talk about 'Chicken Rice', a seemingly exotic dish from the hawker stores in Singapore or Malaysia. It wasn't until I had visited Malaysia as a teenager that I got my first real 'Chicken Rice' experience in Malacca.
Chicken
Whole chicken: ~1.5 - 2kg
Spring onion: 4 shoots, green parts
Ginger: 1 - 2 knobs
Salt: 1 teaspoon +
Chicken rice
Rice, jasmine: 2 cups
Oil (neutral): 2 tablespoons
Ginger: 1 tablespoon, finely diced/crushed
Chicken fat (rendered, or parsons nose)
Chicken stock: ~2.5 cups
Sauce: Ginger and spring onion sauce
Ginger: 2 knobs
Spring onion: 4 shoots, white parts
Salt: 1 teaspoon
Oil (neutral): 2 tablespoons (A neutral oil could be peanut, canola, vegetable)
Sesame oil: 1 teaspoon
Sauce: Chilli sauce
Chilli, birds eye: 3+
Sugar: 1 - 2 teaspoons
Ginger: 1 tablespoon, finely diced
Lime juice: 1 tablespoon
Chicken stock: 1/2 - 1 cup
Garnishes
Coriander
Soy sauce
Cucumber
Tomato
Take the chicken out of the fridge, butterfly and rub with salt. Leave to stand for two hours or until it's at room temperature.
Bring ~3 litres of water to boil (you will need enough water so that the full chicken can be submerged). Roughly chop the green parts of 4 spring onions and pound 1 - 2 knobs of ginger with the skin on. Add to water.
Gently lower the chicken into the boiling water and bring back to the boil. Simmer on very low for 45 minutes. Few if any bubbles should be breaking the surface. Whilst the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the sauces and rice.
Ginger and spring onion sauce: Whilst the chicken is boiling, finely chop (and if you like, macerate with a mortar and pestle) the ginger and the white parts of 4 spring onions. Heat up oil until shimmering, then mix with the spring onions and ginger. Add the sesame oil and salt to taste. Put aside.
Chicken: Remove the chicken once the internal temperature at the thickest parts reach 75C. Immediately plunge into a salted ice bath to arrest the chicken.
Chicken stock: Taste the chicken stock. Continue to reduce if you would like a stronger tasting broth. Add salt as required.
Chicken rice: Heat oil and fry chicken fat. Fry ginger until fragrant, then add rice. Fry for 10 minutes on low. Add ~2.5 cups of chicken stock to the rice, stir it and cook for 10-15 minutes with the lid on until the rice is cooked.
Chilli sauce: Finely slice chilli, ginger. Mix with sugar, lime juice and chicken stock. Adjust each of the ingredients to taste.
Carve chicken and serve with rice, sauces, coriander, cucumber and tomato.
Making the perfect Hainanese Chicken Rice is both art and science. A few hints to make a better chicken and rice.
Chicken size: Smaller chickens will be easier to cook; smaller pot and also faster cooking time
Room temperature chicken: Leave the chicken out for at least 1 - 2 hours before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
Butterflied chicken: Butterfly the chicken (cut through the back of the chicken along the spine). This ensures that the chicken gets poached uniformly. If you poach the full chicken, you need to ensure that the poaching liquid moves through the cavity of the chicken on a regular basis.
Chicken stock: Instead of poaching a chicken in water, you can use a master stock (frozen leftover stock from the last time you made Hainanese Chicken Rice), or other chicken stock.
Thermometer: You can use thermometers to regulate the temperature to ensure the chicken doesn't get overcooked (temperature gets raised significantly above 75C)