Hainanese chicken rice
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Hainanese chicken rice

By Shu Lin

Make this easy Hainanese chicken dinner inspired by Singapore’s national dish. It’s comforting, nourishing and healing for the soul

  • Prep:40 mins
    Cook:55 mins
  • Serves 4
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 808
  • fat 46g
  • saturates 10g
  • carbs 45g
  • sugars 0g
  • fibre 1g
  • protein 53g
  • salt 1.52g

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken , around 1.2kg, or thighs for quicker cooking
  • 4 garlic cloves , crushed or minced
  • 150g piece of fresh ginger , sliced
  • 1 ½ spring onions , sliced
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 210g rice , washed
  • small handul of coriander , chopped
  • sliced cucumber , to serve
  • thumb sized piece of ginger , finely chopped or finely grated
  • 1 spring onion , thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • pinch of sugar
  • ½ tsp chicken bouillon powder
  • 5 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 red chillies , chopped
  • 1 garlic clove , minced or crushed
  • 1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • dash of vinegar , fresh lemon or lime (personal preference)
  • chicken fat , prepared from the whole chicken

Method

  1. Trim any excess fat and loose flaps of skin from the chicken (otherwise keeping the skin on the chicken), then set aside. Reserve the offcuts too. Rub coarse salt all over the chicken, then poach in a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring it is fully immersed, with two-thirds of the ginger, three-quarters of the crushed garlic, 1 spring onion and the turmeric for 25-40 mins depending on the size of the chicken.

  2. Put the cooked chicken in a bowl of iced water for 15 mins to stop the cooking process. Pour the chicken broth into a jug and set aside.

  3. For the ginger & spring onion sauce, combine the garlic, ginger, spring onion and chicken bouillon powder in a serving dish and add a good pinch of salt and sugar. Heat the oil in a small pan until hot then pour over the other ingredients.

  4. To make the red chilli sauce, combine all of the ingredients in small pan with 100ml of the reserved chicken broth, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and pour into a serving dish.

  5. Prepare the rice by heating a frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat and adding the reserved chicken skin and fat from step 1. Once it has rendered (melted a little), add the remaining garlic, ginger and spring onion and cook for 1-2 mins until beginning to brown Stir in the washed rice and 1 litre of the reserved chicken broth. If you don’t have enough left, top up with water or chicken stock. Leave the rice to cook for around 10-15 mins or according to pack instructions. Remove the bones from the chicken, slice then serve with the rice and sauces. Garnish with the coriander and cucumber.

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