Hainanese Chicken Rice
Gently poached chicken and rice cooked in its own stock, served with chilli-ginger sauce and dark soy. Singapore's unofficial national dish.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 1 h
- total
- 1 h 20 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
You will find a version of this at almost every hawker centre in Singapore, and most locals have a strong opinion about which stall does it best. The chicken itself is barely seasoned. Everything that makes it good happens in the poaching, the rice, and the sauce you spoon over the top.
Three things matter more than the recipe itself: a gentle simmer instead of a boil, an ice bath right after cooking, and cooking the rice in the poaching stock instead of plain water. Get those right and you are most of the way to the real thing.
Part of our 20 best Singapore recipes list.
method
Rub the chicken all over with salt. Bring a pot of water just large enough to hold the chicken to a boil with 6 ginger slices, 3 scallions and 2 garlic cloves.
Lower the chicken in gently, breast down. Bring back to a bare simmer, not a boil, and cook for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once halfway, until a thigh reads 75°C (165°F).
Lift the chicken out and plunge it straight into a large bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. This firms the skin and stops the cooking, which is what gives the texture its name.
Skim the fat from the top of the poaching broth and keep it. Strain the broth and set it aside; this is now your cooking stock and soup.
Heat the reserved chicken fat (or oil) in a pot, fry the remaining garlic and the ginger until fragrant, then add the rinsed rice and stir for 2 minutes to coat each grain.
Add the rice and pandan to a rice cooker with 480 ml of the reserved stock and a pinch of salt, and cook as normal. On the stovetop, simmer covered for 15 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
For the chili sauce, blend the chilies, remaining garlic, a little grated ginger, lime juice and a few tablespoons of the hot stock into a loose, spoonable sauce. Season with salt.
Chop the chicken into pieces, or carve it. Serve over the rice with cucumber slices, the chili sauce, a drizzle of dark soy, and a small bowl of the remaining hot broth on the side.
chef's tips
- The ice bath is not optional. It is the one step that gives the chicken its signature silky, slightly bouncy skin.
- Cook the rice in the poaching stock, not water. This is what actually makes it taste like something instead of plain rice with chicken on top.
- A bare simmer, never a rolling boil, keeps the chicken tender. A hard boil toughens it in about ten minutes.
- Save the fat you skim from the broth. It is what you fry the rice in, and plain oil is a real downgrade here.