Hainanese Chicken Rice

Name: Hainanese Chicken Rice
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Singaporean
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (about 1.8 kg); 4 cups jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear; Chicken fat (from the cavity), rendered; 5 cloves garlic, smashed; 3-inch piece ginger, sliced; 3 stalks scallions; 2 pandan leaves, knotted; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp salt for rubbing; Ginger sauce: 100 g ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp chicken fat or oil; Chili sauce: 8 fresh red chilies, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce; Dark sweet soy sauce for drizzling; Cucumber slices for garnish

海南鸡饭 (HI-nan JEE-fan)

Chicken Rice

⏱ Prep Time 75 min

📈 Difficulty Medium

👥 Servings

🔥 Calories 492 kcal

⭐ Rating 4.0 (1)

Silky poached chicken served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken fat and pandan, accompanied by ginger sauce, chili sauce, and dark soy. Singapore's national dish in its simplest, most perfect form.

Nutrition & Info

Protein 32.0g

Carbs 55.0g

Fat 16.0g

Protein Carbs Fat

Dietary

dairy-free gluten-free nut-free

Allergen Warnings

⚠ soy

Equipment Needed

large pot rice cooker cleaver

Presentation Guide

Vessel: plate with separate rice portion

Garnishes: cucumber slices, cilantro

Accompaniments: chili sauce, dark soy sauce, ginger paste

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 1.8 kg)
4 cups jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear
Chicken fat (from the cavity), rendered
5 cloves garlic, smashed
3-inch piece ginger, sliced
3 stalks scallions
2 pandan leaves, knotted
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp salt for rubbing
Ginger sauce: 100 g ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp chicken fat or oil
Chili sauce: 8 fresh red chilies, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce
Dark sweet soy sauce for drizzling
Cucumber slices for garnish

Instructions

1
Rub the whole chicken generously with salt inside and out, stuff the cavity with sliced ginger and scallions, then bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with enough liquid to fully submerge the bird.
2
Lower the chicken into the boiling water breast-side down, return to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting so the water barely simmers with only occasional small bubbles rising for forty to forty-five minutes.
3
Remove the poached chicken and immediately plunge it into a large bowl of ice water for fifteen minutes to tighten the skin and create the signature silky, jiggly texture, then drain and brush the entire surface with sesame oil.
4
Render the reserved chicken fat in a wok over low heat, add smashed garlic and ginger slices, and fry until golden and fragrant, then add the rinsed rice and toast for two to three minutes until each grain is coated in aromatic chicken fat.
5
Transfer the toasted rice to a rice cooker or heavy pot, add chicken broth from the poaching liquid measured at a one-to-one ratio with the rice, tuck in the knotted pandan leaves, and cook until fluffy and each grain is infused with savory chicken flavor.
6
Prepare the ginger sauce by blending ginger, garlic, lime juice, salt, and chicken fat until smooth, and prepare the chili sauce by blending fresh chilies, garlic, lime juice, sugar, and fish sauce into a fiery paste.
7
Carve the chicken into neat pieces, arrange on a platter over the fragrant rice with cucumber slices, and serve with small dishes of ginger sauce, chili sauce, and dark sweet soy sauce alongside a bowl of hot poaching broth as soup.

💡

Did You Know?

Singapore's chicken rice hawkers have won Michelin stars — making it the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world at about $2.

Chef's Notes

Equipment Tips

large pot
rice cooker
cleaver

Garnishing

cucumber slices, cilantro

Accompaniments

chili sauce, dark soy sauce, ginger paste

The Story Behind Hainanese Chicken Rice

### The Story

Hainanese chicken rice is Singapore's most iconic everyday dish, a deceptively simple preparation of poached chicken served over fragrant rice cooked in chicken fat and broth, accompanied by chili sauce, ginger paste, and dark soy sauce. The dish traces its origins to Hainanese immigrants who arrived in Singapore in the early 20th century, adapting their homeland's Wenchang chicken -- a boiled chicken dish from Hainan Island -- to local tastes. The transformative innovation was cooking the rice in chicken stock and rendered fat, turning a simple accompaniment into a deeply flavored component. Early Hainanese chicken rice sellers like Wang Yijing, who operated a street stall in the 1940s, established the foundations of the dish as it is known today.

### On the Calendar

Chicken rice is an everyday dish consumed at any meal -- breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is the default comfort food and the dish Singaporeans most crave when abroad. It carries no ceremonial significance but is woven into the fabric of daily Singaporean life.

### Then & Now

The chicken must be silky and moist -- achieved through precise poaching and an ice bath that firms the skin into a jelly-like layer. The rice must be aromatic, each grain glistening with chicken fat. The three sauces -- fiery chili-garlic, sharp ginger-scallion, and thick dark soy -- allow diners to customize each bite. Hawker stalls like Tian Tian in Maxwell Food Centre have achieved global fame, and the dish sparked a friendly diplomatic rivalry with Malaysia, both countries claiming it as their own.

### Legacy

Hainanese chicken rice is the soul of Singaporean hawker culture -- a dish that proves a nation's identity can be expressed through a plate of rice, a piece of chicken, and three small bowls of sauce.

🕐 Traditionally enjoyed any meal, year-round (everyday comfort food) 📜 Origins: Early 20th century (Hainanese immigrant adaptation, perfected 1940s-1960s)

Comments (1)

Amira Mar 19, 2026 02:53

I substituted coconut milk and it worked great. Highly recommend!