Hainanese Chicken Rice — Print Recipe

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.

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.