Hainanese Chicken Rice

About This Recipe

Hainanese Chicken Rice is the dish most synonymous with Singapore's culinary identity, yet its roots trace to immigrants from Hainan province in southern China who settled on the island in the early 20th century. The genius of the dish lies in its seeming simplicity: a whole chicken is gently poached in a master stock until just cooked — leaving the meat incredibly tender and the skin gelatinous — and the rendered chicken fat and poaching stock are then used to cook the rice, infusing it with extraordinary depth. The dish is served with a trio of sauces — vibrant chilli ginger sauce, thick dark soy, and grated ginger — and a bowl of the poaching broth. Every hawker centre stall's recipe is fiercely guarded.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.5 kgwhole chicken, excess fat reserved
• 3 litreswater
• 4 slicesfresh ginger
• 4 stalksspring onions
• 1 tbspsalt
• 2 cupsjasmine rice, washed
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 tspginger, grated (for rice)
• 2 tbspsesame oil
• 4 red chilliesfor chilli sauce
• 3 clovesgarlic (for chilli sauce)
• 2 cmginger (for chilli sauce)
• 2 tbsplime juice (for chilli sauce)
• 1 tbspdark soy sauce (to serve)
• Cucumber slicesto garnish

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the chicken

   Bring water to a boil with ginger slices, spring onions, and salt. Lower in the whole chicken breast-side down. Return to a gentle simmer, then poach for 40 minutes. Remove chicken, plunge immediately into ice water for 10 minutes — this stops cooking and tightens the skin. Reserve the stock.

2. 2

   Cook the rice

   Render the reserved chicken fat in a wok or pan until you have 2 tbsp liquid fat. Fry minced garlic and grated ginger in the fat for 1 minute. Add washed rice and stir to coat. Transfer to a rice cooker or pot, add 2.5 cups of the reserved chicken stock. Cook until rice is fluffy and fragrant.

3. 3

   Make the chilli sauce

   Blend red chillies, garlic, ginger, lime juice, and a ladleful of hot chicken stock to a smooth, bright sauce. Season with salt.

4. 4

   Carve and serve

   Chop chicken through the bone into serving pieces. Brush with sesame oil and dark soy. Serve over rice garnished with cucumber, with chilli sauce, dark soy, and a bowl of the hot broth seasoned with a pinch of salt.

Variations

• •

  Roasted chicken rice: oven-roast the chicken for crispy skin.

• •

  Soy-sauce chicken rice: braise the chicken in a master soy stock.

• •

  Vegetarian version: replace chicken with silken tofu poached in vegetable stock.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Store chicken and rice separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat rice with a splash of stock. Serve chicken at room temperature for best texture.

Frequently Asked Questions