Rice · Hawker Classic

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Name: Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: For the chicken: 1 whole chicken, about 1.5 kg, with any loose fat from the cavity kept, 1 thumb (30 g) of ginger, sliced, 3 spring onions, 2 teaspoons salt, about 3 litres water (enough to cover the chicken), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, ice for the ice bath; For the rice: 400 g (2 cups) jasmine rice, 40 g chicken fat (from the cavity, or 3 tablespoons neutral oil if you have none), 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 3 slices ginger, 500 ml (2 cups) of the poaching stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 pandan leaves, knotted (optional); Chilli sauce: 4 large red chillies, 2 garlic cloves, 2 cm ginger, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 3 tablespoons poaching stock, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt; Ginger sauce: 50 g ginger, finely grated, 2 spring onion whites, finely chopped, 3 tablespoons neutral oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt; Dark soy dressing: 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or poaching stock); To serve: 1 cucumber, sliced, coriander, and a small bowl of the strained broth per person, seasoned with salt and white pepper, with a few spring onion rings

Hainanese Chicken Rice — street food from Singapore

Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The dish's earliest known Singapore seller carried his chicken and rice balls through the streets slung over his shoulders.

Chicken is gently poached, then served over rice cooked in the chicken's own fat and stock, alongside cucumber, chili sauce, ginger paste, and dark soy. Hawker stalls slice the chicken to order and serve it with a bowl of the poaching broth on the side.

Why it's made this way: Hainanese immigrants adapted Wenchang chicken from Hainan island to local ingredients, and by the mid-20th century coffee shops and hawker stalls had made it one of Singapore's signature dishes.

What is Hainanese Chicken Rice?

Hainanese chicken rice is a plate of gently poached chicken, sliced and served over rice that has been cooked in chicken fat and stock, with cucumber, a sharp chilli sauce, a ginger paste and dark soy sauce. A small bowl of the poaching broth usually comes alongside. It looks plain, but the dish depends on silky chicken, rice that tastes deeply of chicken, and well-made sauces.

It is commonly said to have been adapted by Hainanese immigrants from Wenchang chicken, a poached dish from Hainan island in southern China, and it is now regarded as one of Singapore's best-known hawker dishes. It is also eaten in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and stalls in each place have their own versions.

How to make Hainanese chicken rice

Serves 4 · prep 30 min · cook 75 min

Ingredients

For the chicken: 1 whole chicken, about 1.5 kg, with any loose fat from the cavity kept, 1 thumb (30 g) of ginger, sliced, 3 spring onions, 2 teaspoons salt, about 3 litres water (enough to cover the chicken), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, ice for the ice bath
For the rice: 400 g (2 cups) jasmine rice, 40 g chicken fat (from the cavity, or 3 tablespoons neutral oil if you have none), 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 3 slices ginger, 500 ml (2 cups) of the poaching stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 pandan leaves, knotted (optional)
Chilli sauce: 4 large red chillies, 2 garlic cloves, 2 cm ginger, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 3 tablespoons poaching stock, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt
Ginger sauce: 50 g ginger, finely grated, 2 spring onion whites, finely chopped, 3 tablespoons neutral oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt
Dark soy dressing: 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or poaching stock)
To serve: 1 cucumber, sliced, coriander, and a small bowl of the strained broth per person, seasoned with salt and white pepper, with a few spring onion rings

Method

Pull any loose fat from the chicken cavity and set it aside. Rub the chicken all over with a little salt, then rinse. Wash your hands, board and knife after touching raw chicken.
Bring the water, ginger, spring onions and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a deep pot just big enough for the chicken. Lower the chicken in, breast side down, so it is fully submerged. Bring back just to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover tightly and leave for 40 minutes.
Check doneness with a probe thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching bone: it must read at least 74 degrees C. The juices should run clear, though the meat near the bone can stay a little pink even when cooked. If it has not reached 74 degrees C, return it to the hot water, bring back to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes, cover and leave for another 10 minutes, then check again.
Lift the chicken out and plunge it into a large bowl of iced water for about 10 minutes. This stops the cooking and tightens the skin. Drain, pat dry and rub with the sesame oil. Keep the pot of poaching stock. Do not leave the chicken at room temperature for more than 2 hours; refrigerate if you are not serving soon.
Make the rice: put the chicken fat in a pan over low heat for 5 to 8 minutes to render until you have liquid fat and a few crisp bits (discard the bits). Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute. Rinse the rice well, drain it, and stir it into the fat for 2 minutes until coated and glossy.
Transfer the rice to a rice cooker or pot, add 500 ml of hot poaching stock, the salt and pandan if using. Cook in a rice cooker, or in a covered pot over the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Blend all the chilli sauce ingredients to a coarse purée. For the ginger sauce, put the ginger, spring onion whites and salt in a heatproof bowl, heat the oil until very hot and pour it over, standing back as it will sizzle. Mix the dark soy dressing.
Strain the remaining poaching stock, season it with salt and white pepper and keep it hot. Carve the chicken into slices through the bone or off the bone, as you prefer. Serve over the rice with cucumber, coriander, the sauces and a bowl of hot broth.

Tips

A thermometer matters more than the clock: chickens vary in size, and 74 degrees C in the thickest part of the thigh is the figure to aim for.
Dry the rice well after rinsing; wet rice makes the stock ratio too loose.
The ice bath is what gives the skin its slippery, springy texture, so do not skip it.
Chicken fat is what gives the rice its flavour. If your bird has little, add the skin trimmed from the neck and tail and render it as well.

Regional versions

Stalls often serve roasted or soy-sauce chicken alongside, or instead of, the white poached chicken.
Some cooks add a little dark soy sauce straight over the rice instead of on the side.
Chicken rice balls (rice pressed into balls) are a traditional way of serving the rice in Melaka.

Questions

Is Hainanese chicken rice from Singapore or Hainan?

It is usually described as a Singapore dish adapted by Hainanese immigrants from Wenchang chicken, a poached dish from Hainan island. The exact history is debated.

Why is my chicken pink near the bone?

Gentle poaching can leave a pink tint near the bones even when the meat is safely cooked. Trust the thermometer: 74 degrees C at the thickest part of the thigh.