Dinner! 2013 (Part 3)

[Keith_W]

I loved this dish when I had it abroad. I always assumed it would be rather involved to make at home. How was it? Did you follow a recipe or give it a go on your own?

It is in fact really easy. The traditional way has you steep the chicken in broth for 30 minutes followed by a refresh in cold water. However I prefer to sous-vide the chicken. It is more reliable and gives more consistent results.

[SobaAddict70]

Another dish I enjoyed while in Singapore and in restaurants. Now, I've made it at home. So simple, light, and a lovely change from heavier meals.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

2HainaneseChicken1168.jpg

Had 3 kinds of dips: oyster sauce, sriracha, and ginger, chicken fat, and a bit of salt and sugar in hot oil. This developed some crunchy clumps which were delighful to crunch on along with the silky mois6t5 texture of the chicken

I particurly enjoyed the "burnt rice" on the bottom of the pot, softened with more of the chicken stock!

I loved this dish when I had it abroad. I always assumed it would be rather involved to make at home. How was it? Did you follow a recipe or give it a go on your own?

love HCR. hmm, thanks for the idea for next week.

*wink*

[Dejah]

Morkai: As Keith said, easy to make. Not a required step but I seasoned the interior of the chicken the night before. Bring about 3 litres of water and lots of sliced ginger to boil. Plunk in the chicken, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken in covered pot for about another 10 minutes.Take the chicken out and immerse in ice water to stop the cooking. This also gives the skin a "tightening".

Use some of the stock to cook the rice. I added a couple of drops of sesame oil in with the rice.

The leftover chicken will be used with a salad for lunch tomorrow!

[Prawncrackers]

Dejah, great minds think alike, I had Chicken Rice this evening too. Made plenty of it because I love eating the leftovers the next day. Do you salt your leftover chicken overnight? Love the flavour that develops. Also with the leftover rice have you ever dry-fry it? It gives chicken rice another dimension of deliciousness.

Been making some sausage recently. First up some hot smoked andouille, I'm trying to think of anything so simple yet perfect than andouille hot off the smoker with a dollop of mustard. Food heaven:

With the same batch of pork I also made some N'duja but I couldn't find any Calabrian Chilli powder so I used the reddest chilli powder i could get, Korean Gojugaru. I also added some fish sauce to the mix and smoked it with cherry wood. It tastes fantastic, as good as any commercial stuff I've tried and actually quite simple to make. Went great in a dish with Bucatini pasta:

[mm84321]

Lobster tart

[TinaYuan]

Plantes Vertes, the filling is basically simmered mushroom and tomatoes till like sauce, thickened with grated cheese and bread crumbs. When they can hold together like meatball, I stuff them in the squid and cook in oven, 375F for 40 minutes. But I don't think it's good. It seems meaningless to put the filling and squid together. I would rather eat them separately.

Dejah, chicken rice seems very popular here. It looks delicious!

Prawncrackers, wow, home made sausage with pasta

[huiray]

Regarding "Hainanese Chicken Rice" - this usually refers to a kind of chicken rice developed in Singapore and Malaysia (and Thailand, to a lesser extent) with roots in a chicken dish from Hainan ("Wenchang Chicken"). The type of chicken rice referred to as HCR has been exported back to Hainan Island in recent years.

IMHO I don't think there is a single "best" way to cook HCR. It will also vary with the chicken (what kind, how big, etc) as well as one's preference for how the rice to accompany it is cooked. The chicken itself is essentially no different from what is known as "pak chit kai" or "pak cham kai" in Cantonese; it's the rice PLUS THE CONDIMENTS besides the chicken that is part of the totality of HCR and which also vary, with different localities and vendors having different variations as well - even apart from the variations on the chicken itself - that distinguish one from the other.

Singapore prides itself on its HCR and thinks the Malaysian versions inferior. Folks from Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh) often prefer their own versions. The RICE in Singapore is usually much more savory and packed full of stuff (like lots of chicken fat and other stuff - simply making "chicken rice" with just the stock in which you cooked your ONE chicken is not going to cut it with most Singaporeans) whereas the rice in Penang, in particular, tends to be much more plain, much less savory. Dejah, did you notice this, or was your experience different? Singapore HCR vendors also tend to use more "mushy"-fleshed chickens, mostly from the French-type chickens commercially available there; whereas Malaysians tend to use what are called "ayam kampong" ("village chickens") which are a sort-of free-range-type of chicken with 'tougher' flesh but stronger chicken-y flavor. Foodie folks from Malaysia have been known to express a strong dislike for the HCR *chicken* in Singapore and vice-versa. :-)

I myself alternate between cooking my chickens for HCR using a "constant low simmer" (10 min/lb plus 10 min more) versus a "medium boil" for 10 min or so then letting sit in the stock (fire turned off) for about 20-30 min (~4 lb bird) then sometimes bringing back to a boil again or not, depending on how much water I started out with and/or what the internal temp of the bird is in the thickest part of the thigh is. I don't always do the iced-water dunk - I *like* the extra gelatin that pools (and gels) under the chicken (on a plate) when I don't do the dunking whereas the dunking washes off a lot of this extra gelatin. In fact, I think I *don't* do it more often than I do. In any case, I use LOTS of smashed ginger. Lots. Did I mention I use lots of ginger? :-)

For the rice, I often add in extra chicken fat (I get that from my local butcher in small tubs) into the poaching stock from the beginning - which helps to "coat" the chicken when it is done and removed from the stock, obviating the "oiling the skin" treatment afterwards - and this extra fat is scooped up (with the stock, plus some of the ginger pieces) for use in cooking the rice. I might sauté some garlic and extra ginger in the pot I use for cooking the rice (I cook my rice on the stove top) before adding the raw rice and tossing it before adding the stock + chicken fat + ginger. At other times I'll just simply use the poaching stock as-is. Depends on my mood. ;-)

For sauces, I've made grated ginger - chopped scallion - HOT oil (peanut + veggie); chicken liver sauce; various chilli sauces with or without additional additives (vinegar. lime juice, other chilli sauces, etc), sautéed chopped smashed garlic quenched in the pan w/ a good soy sauce; etc.

I normally reheat a portion of the poaching stock w/ some vegetable (usually leafy, but not always) to give a chicken broth with greenery in it to accompany the meal - although I have on rare occasions just had a bowl of the broth w/ a scattering of chopped scallions and/or coriander leaves in it too.

I've reported on my HCR meals and what I've done with leftovers here on the older "dinner" threads and on the "lunch" thread.

Edited May 24, 2013 by huiray (log)

[hongda]

Old thread on Hainanese Chicken.....

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/85937-singapore-hainanese-chicken-rice/

[heidih]

Old thread on Hainanese Chicken.....

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/85937-singapore-hainanese-chicken-rice/

Huiray's post above is linked in that topic as well for future reference

[Plantes Vertes]

Tina, a popular way to prepare a squid is to stuff it with chorizo, plus rice and perhaps a chopped egg. You can put the tentacles in too. Maybe that's worth a try another time.

[Paul Bacino]

Been Away..Sorry Here

Here is my latest creation!!

Braised Yukon Gnocchi in a Morel reduction sauce ( finished w/ a 64 degree Egg )!!

Edited May 24, 2013 by Paul Bacino (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Have a TON of greens I'm going through in my fridge; coming up with some ideas for next week.

In the meantime, this was tonight:



Fried farm eggs, with asparagus, sesame oil and cayenne

The eggs were fried in olive oil for about 2 minutes, or until the whites were barely set. Transferring them to a bowl or plate is always a bit tricky, since one wrong move and you'll end up with an egg painting instead of fried eggs.




Pasta with greens (cress, Greenmarket spinach), anchovy, garlic and fried breadcrumbs.

The breadcrumbs are from a stale baguette and were fried in olive oil, then seasoned with sea salt, peperoncini and black pepper.

[rotuts]

PB: delicious ! but ..... where's the Beef!

[Dejah]

Prawncrackers:Shame on you...tantalizing sausage! I'll remember your suggestion of salting the leftovers next time!

huiray: Kampong chickens, to me, are best kept for stock...not much eating to them. I like garlic, but not if it overpowers, so I add mainly lots of ginger and simmer that with a chicken carcass before I simmer the chicken itself.

I think the Singapore version of the rice is more garlicy but not overpoweringly so. There was more of a sheen and toasted flavour to it then on mine. Next time, I'll sautee the raw rice in rendered chicken fat before adding the stock and ginger.

I only use the electric rice cooker when I have a lot of company. Otherwise, it's always on the stove top 'cos I love fan jew!

[huiray]

Prawncrackers:Shame on you...tantalizing sausage! I'll remember your suggestion of salting the leftovers next time!

huiray: Kampong chickens, to me, are best kept for stock...not much eating to them. I like garlic, but not if it overpowers, so I add mainly lots of ginger and simmer that with a chicken carcass before I simmer the chicken itself.

I think the Singapore version of the rice is more garlicy but not overpoweringly so. There was more of a sheen and toasted flavour to it then on mine. Next time, I'll sautee the raw rice in rendered chicken fat before adding the stock and ginger.

I only use the electric rice cooker when I have a lot of company. Otherwise, it's always on the stove top 'cos I love fan jew!

To each their own. Did you try any HCR in Malaysia?

The Singaporean HCR rice would indeed normally have more garlic - plus pandan leaves with some vendors. It has been described as "unctuous" with the chicken fat/oil and other seasonings by some food bloggers. As I mentioned before, many people in Malaysia like a less heavily-seasoned rice for their HCR. Did you try some in M'sia?

As for the garlic in the poaching of the chicken - umm, just in case there was a misunderstanding - I didn't say I used any garlic at all in my post above, in fact. I said I used lots of GINGER. Still, I *have* put in a few cloves of garlic into the poaching stock before but that is relatively infrequent.

Even when I cook the rice I would use garlic sparingly, if at all. It's in the garlic-soy sauce/condiment - a separate thing - where I would use lots of garlic, as it *is* a garlic sauce.

Edited May 24, 2013 by huiray (log)

[Dejah]

huiray: Yes. I did have HCR in Malaysia and Singapore. I was too busy enjoying both so much that I really didn't bother to analyze the differences between them.

But I know I will be making it more often at home now!

[C. sapidus]

Dejah, glad you are feeling better, and I’m enjoying all of your meals (and the HCR discussion).

Dcarch – beautiful as always, I love the bok choy forest.

Ann_T – Mmmmm, chile verde pork chops

Chicken, lemongrass, and potato curry from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. Fried paste of lemongrass, ginger, onion, black pepper, red chile flakes, and curry powder, simmered with chicken, potatoes, and coconut milk. Jasmine rice and salad.

[patrickamory]

OMG Hainanese chicken rice - one of my favorite dishes. I made it some time ago and was not happy with the chicken - somehow dried it out too much. Will try again. Especially after eating it recently at the great Savoy Kitchen in Alhambra. And then seeing that photo above. Thanks Dejah and huiray for the fascinating discussion!

Prawncrackers - that pasta is off the hook.

Plantes Vertes - it's the season for that sort of risotto. One of my favorites. Will be making this week.

In general: tantalizing meals everyone! This thread just keeps getting better and better (if that's even possible).

[FeChef]

Last night. 川式酸辣牛肉. Sichuan Hot and Sour Beef. Served with rice, and water spinach fried with garlic in duck fat (not pictured).

Hot it was. Very. And sour. In the best possible way.

That beef looks thin and tender. Something like what asian restaurants serve here in the states. What is the technique for this thin, almost "cant be beef its so tender" meat? Do they use a meat tenderizer like papain? I know the egg/cornstarch velvet technique but that just doesnt come close to how tender the beef is.

[liuzhou]

That beef looks thin and tender. Something like what asian restaurants serve here in the states. What is the technique for this thin, almost "cant be beef its so tender" meat? Do they use a meat tenderizer like papain? I know the egg/cornstarch velvet technique but that just doesnt come close to how tender the beef is.

No tenderizer was used. Just the standard velveting technique. And, of course, decent beef cut thinly across the grain.

[Ann_T]

Dejah, I've come back to this thread numerous times since yesterday, looking at your Hainanese Chicken rice. I had to have it. Stopped on my way to work this morning and picked up the ingredients. Not exactly the best idea, to start cooking at 5:30, but well worth the wait. Thank you.

Found a number of variations on dips to serve with this dish. Went with a scallion ginger and oil, and one that was just finely chopped red chile pepper, garlic and fresh squeezed lemon juice. I also added some rice wine vinegar.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Ann_T (log)

[huiray]

@Patrickamory @Ann_T: Just for your interest. :-)

Some of the HCR meals I've had, as reported here on eG, and what I did with leftovers:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143493-dinner-2012/page-97#entry1902527

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/?view=findpost&p=1910934

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/?view=findpost&p=1902572

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/?view=findpost&p=1910938

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/?view=findpost&p=1902840

Soba Addict has posted about his "pak chit kai" and Keith_W has posted about his HCR in recent times too. :-)

Edited May 25, 2013 by huiray (log)

[Dejah]

Ann_T: HCR is one dish that can be put together in fairly short order if need be. Yours looks great!

Had nicely marbled chuck roast cut up and made rendang early in the day. Pretty much simmered for the whole afternoon and was ready for supper. The house smelled great, as did the aroma coming out the air vent to the garden where I was working!

In the past, I made the dish drier, per David Thompson's recipe. I always missed the sauce, so this time, I didn't let it cook down as much and enjoyed a saucier version over nasi lemak.

[Dejah]

C.sapidus! I AM feeling better, thanks!

And now, I'll have an order of that curry chicken, please!

That will be on the table, maybe Sunday, as I need some curry dip for roti jala! Looking forward to using my little jala ladle souvenir!

[ChrisTaylor]

That chicken rice looks amazing.