Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice

[NickLam]

Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice

Serves 3 as Main Dish.

Hainanese Chicken Rice, probably one of the most famous hawker foods of Singapore. Characterised by its smoothness and tenderness paired with fragrant rice, it is a taste that many Singaporeans miss when they live overseas. Hope to bring the taste of Singapore into your home today!

The instructions are long, but hopefully, leaves nothing to your imagination.

• 1.4 kg Whole Chicken with Head and Feet
  
• 2 Bunches of Pandanus Leaves
  
• 2 Inches Ginger, sliced thickly
  
• 3 Cloves Garlic, whole
  
• 2 inch piece of konbu (Japanese kelp
  
• 3 qt Ice Cold Water
  
• 2 Plum roma tomatoes and Cucumbers each, sliced thinly
  
• 4 c Long grain jasmine rice (1 cup of rice per person)
  
• 2 Heads of garlic, peeled
  
• 3 Inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thickly
  
• 7 Shallots, peeled
  
• 10 Saffron threads (Optional)
  
• 2 inch piece of konbu (Japanese kelp
  
• Fragrant Asian Sesame Oil as needed
  
• Kikkoman Naturall Brewed Soy Sauce as needed
  

Recipe is written according to actual steps taken to make this dish

For the Chicken

- Set a large pot with enough water to cover, thow in the chicken's head and feet as well as the tied up pandanus leaves, bring to a boil

- Meanwhile, wash the rice properly and leave in colander to strain all water

- Rub the chicken inside and outside generously with salt, then rinse it away with water. This seasons the chicken as well as gets rid of any slime or unwanted odours

- Cut away large flaps of fat around the cavity above the bishop's nose and around the neck and set aside.

- Peel garlic, peel and slice ginger into the size of your country's coins! Shove into chicken's cavity

- When water has come to a boil, put the chicken breast down into the water

- Add the konbu

- Cook the chicken uncovered on medium heat for 20 mins

- After 20 mins, switch off the heat and steep the chicken in the hot water for a further 20 - 30 mins

- Use a meat thermometer and poke it into the thigh to make sure its 'just cooked' at around 73 to 75 degrees celsius

- The meat in the thigh has to be slightly pinkish.

- The gentle cooking in the hot water prevents the chicken proteins from contracting too much due to high heat, thereby preserving a juicy and smooth texture.

- Prepare the ice water bath in a pot large enough to submerge the whole chicken

- Dump the hot chicken into the cold water to immediately stop the cooking process. Leave it there till its cool.

- When chicken is cool, debone it a la Martin Yan

- Slice cucumbers, tomatoes

- Arrange everything on a plate, drizzle sesame oil over chicken...be generous

- Drizzle soy sauce over chicken....be generous too!

For the Rice

- Finely mince ginger, garlic and shallots OR place into food proceesor and process till fine

- Place fat into a wok and cook gently over a small fire to extract the chicken fat for use with the rice (It just won't taste the same without fat......)

- When fat is rendered, discard solid pieces and fry ginger garlic and shallots till fragrant but not browned

- Throw in raw, washed rice and saute the rice

- Add salt to taste

- Fry rice till its dry and whitish. This extended frying of raw rice ensures that when its cooked, it absorbs the maximum amount of stock possible

- Set rice aside in rice cooker till chicken is done cooking

- When chicken is cooked, we will use the stock to cook the rice

- Ladel stock into the rice cooker till the appropriate level...and add 3 to 4 tbs more to compensate for the extra dryness of the rice

- Tie up the pandanus leaves, throw it into the rice cooker along with the konbu and saffron

- When rice is cooked, remove konbu and pandanus, fluff the rice

- Rice is ready!

When we serve this in Singapore, the boned chicken is placed on a bed of rice with tomato and cucumber. Its drizzled with the soy/sesame sauce. Cilantro and spring onions garnish the plate.

Side dipping sauces include Sweet Dark Soy Sauce, Garlic and Ginger Paste (Garlic and ginger blended with oil to form a kind of aioli) and chilli sauce (Red chillies, lime juice, salt, sugar and ginger blended togather to a liquid sauce)

However, just on its own, with the soy/sesame sauce, it is heavenly.

Hope the long recipe doesn't put anyone off!

Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, Intermediate, Southeast Asian, Chicken, Lunch

( RG1920 )