Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe

Singaporean / Malaysian · Main course · 90 min total

A classic Singaporean and Malaysian dish featuring poached chicken and fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth, served with chili sauce and ginger-garlic dip.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg), cleaned
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
• 6 cups water
• 3 slices ginger (about 2 inches each), smashed
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 pandan leaves (optional), knotted
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• Fresh cilantro for garnish
• For chili sauce: 5 red chilies, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt
• For ginger-garlic dip: 2 tablespoons grated ginger, 2 cloves garlic minced, 2 tablespoons oil, pinch salt

Instructions

1. Rub chicken inside and out with sesame oil and salt. Let rest 15 minutes.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add ginger, garlic, and pandan leaves. Carefully lower chicken into pot, breast down. Return to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let chicken sit in hot broth for 15 minutes (do not uncover).
3. Remove chicken and plunge into an ice bath to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry. Brush with sesame oil. Reserve broth.
4. For rice: In a pot, heat 2 tablespoons reserved chicken fat or oil. Add rinsed rice and stir 2 minutes. Add 2 cups reserved broth (from poaching) and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes, then fluff.
5. For chili sauce: Blend chilies, garlic, ginger, lime juice, sugar, and salt with a little water until smooth.
6. For ginger-garlic dip: Heat oil, pour over grated ginger and minced garlic, add salt.
7. To serve: Chop chicken into pieces. Serve with rice, cucumber slices, cilantro, chili sauce, and ginger-garlic dip.

Tips

• For extra flavor, use chicken fat rendered from the skin to fry the rice.
• Leftover broth can be used as soup base; add tofu or vegetables.
• Store leftover chicken and rice separately in fridge up to 3 days.

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