Nasi Ayam Hainan — Print Recipe

Silky poached chicken with impossibly tender skin served over fragrant rice cooked in chicken fat and garlic, with a trio of sauces — chili, ginger, and dark soy — Malaysia's comfort masterpiece.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (1.5kg)
4 cups jasmine rice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2cm ginger, sliced
2 pandan leaves
Chicken fat (rendered from chicken)
Sesame oil
Salt
Ice water for ice bath
Chili sauce: fresh red chilies, garlic, lime juice, chicken broth
Ginger sauce: grated ginger, sesame oil, salt, chicken broth
Dark soy sauce with sesame oil
Cucumber slices
Fresh coriander

Instructions

1 Poach whole chicken in simmering water with ginger slices and salt for 35-40 minutes until just cooked.
2 Immediately plunge the chicken into ice water for 15 minutes to tighten the skin and create a jelly-like layer.
3 Render chicken fat in a pan. Fry garlic until golden, add washed rice, and coat in the chicken fat.
4 Cook rice in a rice cooker using the chicken poaching broth instead of water. Add pandan leaves.
5 Chop chicken into pieces with a cleaver — bone-in, through the bone, Chinese-style.
6 Arrange chicken over rice with cucumber. Serve with all three dipping sauces.

Did You Know?

The legendary Chung Wah Chicken Rice in KL has been serving chicken rice since the 1950s from the same recipe, with queues stretching down the street every lunch hour.