Hainanese Chicken Rice

Has anyone ever eaten Hainanese chicken rice? Hainanese chicken rice is food from China. Yet, it is popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other regions in Southeast Asia. It is steamed chicken with warm soup and spice rice. This food is light, savory, and perfect if you need to warm up in your body in the winter or the cold weather. Let’s warm the body up with this menu!

This menu is popular in the Asian region, especially in Southeast Asia. Due to its popularity, this menu has controversy about the origin of this food. However, Singapore and Malaysia have made this food national food.

This controversy got me interested in discussing the origins of this menu. So I will explain in advance the history of this menu based on my point of view. Let see the history of this menu.

Where is the origin of Hainanese Chicken Rice?

If you hear the word Hainan, of course, what you can imagine is an area in mainland China. Hainan is an archipelago located in the southern region of China.

Logically means, this food originates from Hainan, China. But you know it, this Hainanese Chicken Rice seems to have been a struggle for its authenticity rights by various countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, to Thailand. How come?

Well, you can imagine for yourself how delicious this chicken rice. It might be the reason why several countries fight to claim this menu.

Initially, the native people of Hainan, China, made this menu there. They cooked in their traditional way. They use the whole chicken with the bones. Then, they boiled it until a thick broth comes out. After the chicken is tender, they drain the chicken. In the last step, they cut it into pieces. The result of the chicken is juicy and soft.

Then, they will use the thick broth as an ingredient in cooking soup. This soup will be the complement of this menu. For the rice, they add coconut milk. It makes the rice is flavorful and savory.

Then, the Hainanese migrated to the Nanyang area, Singapore. They were still using traditional cooking techniques. But, they started adding local flavors such as adding garlic and ginger when boiling the chicken for the first time. They get a new technique adapting with the local people. They soak the cooked chicken in ice water so that the chicken skin can become very smooth and chewy like jelly.

Likewise, the Hainanese migrated to Malaysia and Thailand. They all still preserve the traditional Hainanese Chicken cuisine, but with some local adjustments. For this reason, Hainanese Chicken Rice seems to be a traditional dish in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand as well.

Along with its development, the chicken served in Hainanese Chicken Rice is not only boiled chicken but also grilled chicken. The selected chicken is also young chicken, so the texture of the chicken meat becomes softer.

It is oily food but it doesn’t contain too fat.

The key of Hainan Chicken Rice outside the island version of Hainan, including the one in Singapore, is actually in the rice. Cooked from boiled chicken water mixed with stir-fry ginger, garlic, salt, and pandan leaves, the rice is full of flavor, oily but not fatty.

The chefs at various shops or restaurants have their own mix of spices and cooking techniques to create delicious Hainanese rice. The target is this chicken rice must be delicious to eat alone, without the chicken.

For the chicken sauce, still use boiled chicken water mixed with soy sauce and a sprinkling of green onions. Meanwhile, the chicken soup itself uses boiled chicken stock with ginger, garlic, pepper, and salt.

Therefore, I am proud of my own concoctions for this menu. However, these modifications do not spoil the original taste or authenticity of this delicacy. It’s still the authentic taste that I felt when I ate it in Singapore. Although, I myself am still confused about the origin of this food.

What do you need to prepare?

You’ll need to prepare ingredients for three part of this menu. I will share the ingredients in detail to make you sure how many ingredients you need. There are:

• 1 whole Chicken 1,5 kg / 3,3 lbs
• 3 cm Ginger (lightly crushed) for poaching the chicken
• 2 cloves Garlic (lightly crushed) for poaching the chicken
• 6 cm Ginger finely chopped
• 6 cloves Garlic finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 4 Red Chillis
• 8 Bokcoy halves vertically
• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• 3 cups Uncooked Rice
• 4,5 cups Chicken Stock
• 2 tbsp Chicken Stock for chilli sauce
• Sea Salt
• 1 L Cold Water + Ice cubes
• Sugar a pinch

The Steps How to Make Hainanese Chicken Rice

I will separate the steps into three-part. It will be three processes; Hainanese chicken, Hainanese rice, and Hainanese soup. So, here it is:

• Making Hainanese Chicken

1. Pat dry whole chicken with a kitchen towel. Sprinkle 2 tbsp sea salt all around the chicken skin and inside the cavity. Then put in the large ziplock bag with no air in it and the skin sticks to the ziplock bag or large plastic bag. Put it in the fridge and let it marinate for about 24 hours (recommended) or overnight. This will make the salt seep into the flavorful chicken.
2. After 24 hours, let the chicken out of the fridge for about 1 hour to room temperature. After that, clean the chicken with running water.
3. In a large pot, add approximately 2 L of water, 1 inch lightly crushed ginger & 2 cloves lightly crushed garlic with high heat until boiling. Turn off the heat and then add the chicken. The water should cover the chicken. Turn on the heat again and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the chicken poached in the pot for about 45 minutes – 1 hour. (while you wait you can start making the Hainanese rice, the instruction below)
4. After that, take out the chicken from the pot. Be careful to not tear the skin. In a large bowl filled with cold water + ice cubes, add the chicken and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. It allows the chicken skin to be gelatinous and locks in the chicken juices inside.
5. Meanwhile, you can start to turn on the heat again and boil the bokcoy for 3 minutes. Set aside.
6. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the ice bath. Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel.
7. In a bowl combine 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sesame oil, and 1 tbsp water from poaching the chicken. Lightly massage the chicken with about 2 tbsp of the sauce. Set aside the rest of the sauce for later.

• Making Hainanese Rice

Rinse the uncooked rice at least two times. Drain the water. Add the chicken stock, 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp sesame oil, and 1 tbsp sea salt. Cook the rice in the rice cooker.

• Making Chili Sauce

In a pan, lightly saute the cooking oil, the rest of the ginger and garlic on a low heat until fragrant. Combine and grind red chillis, sauteed ginger, garlic, a pinch of salt and sugar, 2 tbsp chicken stock in a spice grinder until becoming a paste.

• Assembling the Hainanese Chicken Rice

1. Cut the whole chicken by separate the breasts, the legs, and the wings. And cut each of them ½ inch wide.
2. On a plate, prepare a cup of the Hainanese rice per serving. Add several cuts of the Hainanese chicken, and bokcoy. Enjoy it with sesame + soy sauce and chili sauce.

Have you made it? How is the taste? I hope this food can warm up your body in the winter, cold, and windy weather. Keep healthy everyone! 😊

YOU MAY LIKE THE OTHERS COMFORT FOOD TO KEEP YOU WARM :

• Creamy Chicken Soup
• Sweet Pumpkin Coconut Soup
• Oxtail Soup
• Spicy Beef Chashu Ramen Noodle