Hainanese Chicken Rice

Name: Hainanese Chicken Rice
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: One 3- to 4-pound chicken, trimmed of excess fat; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic; 5 slices fresh ginger, peeled and smashed; 1/4 cup peanut or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed; 3 shallots, roughly chopped; 2 cups long-grain rice; Salt and black pepper to taste; 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil; Ginger-Chile Sauce (page 584); 2 tomatoes, sliced; 2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced; 1/4 cup minced scallion; Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

December 14, 2011

A Chinese dish that is also seen in parts of Southeast Asia. Serve with Ginger-Chile Sauce. Even more than usual, be sure to use a good-quality chicken here; its flavor is what makes the rice special.

Recipe information

Yield
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

One 3- to 4-pound chicken, trimmed of excess fat

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic

5 slices fresh ginger, peeled and smashed

1/4 cup peanut or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed

3 shallots, roughly chopped

2 cups long-grain rice

Salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

Ginger-Chile Sauce (page 584)

2 tomatoes, sliced

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup minced scallion

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Rub the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and put 2 tablespoons of the garlic and the ginger in its cavity. Add the chicken to the water; it should be completely submerged, but just barely. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the bird remain in the water for 2 hours, covered.
Step 2
Remove the chicken from the pot (reserve the stock) and place it in a large bowl of ice water until cool. (Or refrigerate it and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready.) Place the peanut oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the remaining garlic and the shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 quart of the reserved chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice, bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low and cover; cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3
Drain the chicken and rub it with the sesame oil. Cut it into bite-sized pieces (you can decide whether you want to include the bones or not) and arrange it over the rice. Drizzle some of the Ginger-Chile Sauce over the chicken and decorate with the tomatoes and cucumbers. Sprinkle the scallion and cilantro over all or, if you like, heat the remaining chicken stock and serve in small bowls, sprinkled with the scallion; stir in some sauce to taste.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.

TagsChinese East Asian Asian Southeast Asian Chicken Poultry Rice Rice & Grains Main Dinner Brunch Gluten Free Dairy Free Poach Lunar New Year Cookbooks

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Recipe notes