EATOO UK

Hainanese Chicken Rice (海南鸡饭) was listed as one of the “World’s 50 best foods” by CNN in 2018. Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of poached chicken and seasoned rice, served with chilli sauce and usually with cucumber garnishes.

Ingredients 

Chicken:

• 1 Corn feed chicken
• 1 Pinch salt to taste
• 1 Cup water to cover
• 1 Onion (Halved, skin on)
• 8 Cloves garlic (Peeled)
• 1 Pinch salt & Ground white pepper to taste

Rice:

• 3 Cups long-grain white rice
• 5 Cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 (1/2 inch) Piece fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 tsp. Oil
• 5 Pandan leaves, knotted

Dipping Sauces:

• 3 Fresh red chili peppers, halved and seeded
• 1 Lime, juiced, or as needed
• 4 Cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 Slice fresh ginger

Garnish:

• 10 Leaves lettuce, or as desired
• 1 Cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tomato, sliced
• 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Sesame oil

Method 

1. Remove fat from the chicken and reserve it for later use. Season chicken, inside and out, with salt.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add chicken, onion, 8 garlic cloves, sliced 1-inch piece ginger, salt, and white pepper. Bring liquid back to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is fully cooked, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Carefully remove chicken and plunge into a large bowl of ice water until cooled. Remove chicken, dry, and cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Strain chicken broth and reserve liquid.

4. Wash and drain rice. Heat reserved chicken fat in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir 5 sliced garlic cloves and sliced 1/2-inch piece ginger until fragrant around 1 minute. Add rice and oil; cook and stir until rice is coated in oil. Pour in enough reserved chicken broth to cook rice, about 6 cups. Add pandan leaves. Cover skillet and cook rice until tender and broth is absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Pound red chili peppers using a mortar and pestle, adding a small amount of salt, until peppers transform into a fine paste. Stir enough lime juice into paste to make smooth; transfer to a serving dish.

6. Pound 4 garlic cloves and 1 slice ginger using a mortar and pestle until paste is formed; transfer to a separate serving dish.

7. Place lettuce leaves on a serving plate and arrange cucumber slices and tomatoes around dish. Place the chicken pieces in the centre. Mix soy sauce and sesame oil together in a bowl; pour over chicken. Serve a bowl of reserved chicken broth on the side with a bowl of rice and the 2 dipping sauces.