By Mark Bittman
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus resting
- Rating
- 5(429)
- Notes
- Read community notes
While this is the most basic version of Hainanese chicken, the best one is the provenance of devotees, who save the stock they don’t need for the rice, freeze it, and use it as a starting point for the next time they cook chicken this way. If you do this repeatedly, the stock will become stronger and stronger, as will the flavors of both chicken and rice. If you do this hundreds of times, the way restaurants do, the flavors will be quite intense. But even if you do it once, the dish is a total winner.
Featured in: From a Chinese Island, a Chicken for Every Pot
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 8 servings
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1whole (3- to 4-pound) chicken, trimmed of excess fat
- Several cloves smashed garlic, plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Several slices fresh ginger, plus 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ½cup peanut oil, or neutral oil, like corn or canola
- 3shallots, roughly chopped, or a small onion
- 2cups long-grain rice
- ½cup minced scallions
- 2cucumbers, peeled and sliced
- 2tomatoes, sliced
- Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 2tablespoons sesame oil
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
762 calories; 36 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 44 grams protein; 1088 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add chicken to pot along with smashed garlic and sliced ginger. Bird should be completely submerged, but only just. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let bird remain in water for 45 minutes to an hour, covered, or until it is cooked through.
Step
2
Remove chicken from pot, reserve stock, and let bird cool to room temperature. Put half the peanut oil in a skillet over medium heat; you may add trimmed chicken fat to this also. When oil is hot, add remaining garlic, along with shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until glossy. Add 4 cups reserved chicken stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover; cook for about 20 minutes, until rice has absorbed all liquid. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
Step
3
Make a dipping sauce of remaining oil, ginger, half the scallions and a large pinch of salt.
Step
4
Shred or chop chicken, discarding skin. Put rice on a large platter and mound chicken on top of it; decorate platter with cucumbers, tomatoes, remaining scallions and cilantro. Sprinkle sesame oil over all and serve with dipping sauce.
Ratings
5
out of 5
429
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Cooking Notes
Terrible photo
Photo used for illustration shows a pretty unusual presentation for Hainanese Chicken and Rice.
Peter
i like to fry the chicken skin in the oil before adding the rice then remove to add later as a garnish
Jen
I definitely agree with the observation about the photo (which looks more like chicken salad over rice than Hainanese Chicken). The more usual presentation is pieces of chicken, which BTW are delicious dipped in the ginger scallion dipping sauce.
Roger
You know what puts the broth over the top? MSG. Blasphemy, I know. It went from being bland to tasting “correct”.Threw some frozen dumplings and Chinese noodles in the soup too. Kids loved it.
SandaSavi
I have made this in my slow cooker. Put the chicken in the slow cooker and just cover with water, add the salt and I only use ginger. I cooked on low for 6 hours or high for 4. Its so tender and sometimes it falls apart on the platter after removing. I do save my broth but use it for soups. I will save it for the next time I make this recipe.
BeverlyCY
The tyranny of cilantro at the end. Does the dish really need cilantro because I hate it.
Kate
I’m curious can you really use and re-use stock, freezing and unfreezing it, repeatedly without causing a food safety problem?
ED
The skin is a big part of this dish. Other recipes I've seen have emphasized spending some time cleaning the skin before poaching the whole chicken, and then immediately chilling the chicken in an ice bath to firm up the skin. You can then rub the skin with sesame oil before cutting the chicken into serving sizes, with the skin on, to serve with the rice and vegetables.
Deborah
Rub some salt onto the breast beneath the skin as one would a dry brine, before cooking the chicken. Makes a world of difference - no more dry white meat.
Jagat
I make a version of dashi (classic Japanese stock) and use that instead of MSG. None of the chemicals, and all the yummy ummami flavors.
RMH
Made exactly as directed, although I used a 5 lb organic chicken. Yielded meat with a very silky texture cooked in this way. Broth was excellent - looking forward to making it again with the remainder saved, which there was a LOT. Rice was stellar, too. You can really get creative with the garnishes - just use whatever you like. Snap peas, book choy and steamed broccoli was our sub.
Michael
Absolutely. I've been doing it for decades.The problem with thawing and refreezing is that bacteria can grow during the thawing phase. If you dump the frozen stock into a pot and bring it to a boil, the bugs don't have a chance to grow.
Kurt
I made this and it looked almost exactly like the photo. It's mildly seasoned boiled chicken on white rice with cilantro, cucumbers, and tomato. It reminds me of the Thai dish khao man gai (chicken with rice).
iblock9
This is an easy & delicious recipe. My kids, 17 & 15, loved it. Great the 2nd day.
michael
I made it following the directions as closely as possible. I didn't find there was enough ginger flavor to elevate the dish over countless other chicken-with-rice recipes. And I think the ratio of rice to chicken is high.I understand it's a different recipe, but if I try this again I will crisp the chicken skins first, use less rice, add flavor from other spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon) and include a little bit of acid such as lime zest.
Craig Burdick
exceptional.
Kami
What I don't see is the other dipping sauces. Our recipe was in the SF Chronicle years ago and included a fresh Chile and ginger sambal & a hot oil-seared ginger sauce. #1 Pound 4-6 serrano chiles, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbl minced ginger & 1/2 tsp salt & sugar to a paste. Add 1 tsp stock, 1tbl lime juice. #2 1/4 c minced ginger, 1 tsp salt & sugar. Pound together then pour 2 tbl hot peanut oil over it.
David O'Toole
Has anyone tried this with duck?
Katarina
Per other reviewer, used the rest of the broth to add dumplings and make soup. Delicious.Used two liter sized bags of homemade frozen chicken broth. The rice was amazing!
David Hays Buckley
How/why do you freeze broth in bags? Does it not risk leakage while reaching solidity? I freeze my broth in quart takeout containers which isn't ideal but never leaks.
Lee
Grate the ginger and use soy sauce and chili flake for the dipping sauce. Use half a cup of oil and lots of everything
Lee
This is the best. So good and infinitely adaptable.
Lee
Double the dipping sauce. Add a little soy sauce and chili flakes and habanero flakes. Brown rice is a nice choiceBoil veg in stock - carrots leaksRaw spinach cucumbers cilantro
Marcy
Incredibly easy to make and fantastic as leftovers. In lieu of cilantro, drizzle with vinegar and soy sauce.
SH in SM
I liked this skinless version - I've found boiled chicken skin is a bit much for my non-Asian guests. A few edits. 1) Rice:chicken ratio too high - reduce by half a cup, and liquid proportionally. 2) Use white instead of black ground pepper. 3) If you're not saving the excess broth, add 2 cups of shredded napa cabbage and simmer while the rice is cooking, then serve it as a light soup with the dish. 4) I wanted a second sauce: 3 parts soy sauce, 1 part oyster sauce, 1 part broth. Also, LaoGanMa!
Singaporean version
Serve with Kecap Manis, watered down a bit, and Sambal, as additional dipping sauces. Both available from Amazon if not in your local grocery store.
Katie
This recipe is very similar to the Epicurious recipe. The other one is slightly more interesting because of the profusion of ginger.
janisani
was really delicious. made a dipping sauce with lime juice, sriracha, fresh ginger, and salt.
Deborah
Rub some salt onto the breast beneath the skin as one would a dry brine, before cooking the chicken. Makes a world of difference - no more dry white meat.
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