If you like juicy tender chicken, flavourful ginger rice paired with a delicious homemade chilli sauce and other refreshing condiments then you will be a fan of our version of Hainanese Chicken Rice. Learn how to make this family style dish with our step by step recipe.
I fell in love with this dish during my travels to Singapore. I most probably would have never ordered it from the menu but it kept appearing everywhere, so I decided to give it a try.
After the waiter explained the dish, I realized its a Whole poached chicken dish, something similar known to me in French cooking. The classic Pot au Feu made with a whole chicken is part of traditional cooking and represents French comfort food.
However, the Hainanese Chicken Rice I ate that day, was next level! An unforgettable experience, so rich and tasty, a journey of flavours, and all coming from a hawkers stall.
I have tried many different versions since I ate it the first time in Singapore and now I have adapted the recipe by giving it my own little twist to the way I like to eat it.
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How to make Hainan Chicken
The recipe for Hainanese style whole poached chicken with ginger rice and chilli sauce seems very long and complicated. But it's not! It is actually straight forward and uncomplicated.
There are a few steps involved in getting the dish together but don't freight because I have outlined the steps below for you:
Steps to prepare Whole Chicken with Ginger Rice and Chilli Sauce
- Preparing the chicken
- Cooking the chicken in a broth
- Making the spring onion and ginger sauce
- Cooking the Ginger rice
- Making the chilli sauce (this can be replaced with a good store bought chilli sauce if you want to skip this step)
- Preparing and cooking the vegetables (optional)
- Dishing up all the components of the Hainan chicken
How to prepare the Whole Chicken
When it comes to preparing the dish, look for quality ingredients. The key to making a juicy, tender chicken, is to source a good quality organic chicken. I bought a 2kg organic chicken from the local butcher and yes it came at a hefty a price tag! But once you taste the chicken and the broth, you will understand why quality is so important.
To start, slowly wash the chicken under cold water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. The chicken needs a good seasoning, so make sure to use plenty of salt on the outside and the inside of the chicken.
How to cook the Whole Chicken
Choose a large pot and fill it with cold water. The pot should be big enough so that the chicken can be submerged upside down (i.e. drumsticks and breast facing down).
Place the pot on the stove on high heat, once the water starts boiling, reduce the heat to simmer. Now, an Important step is to keep removing the scum coming to the surface.
How to make the most flavourful Chicken Broth
Once the water is clear, add all the ingredients for the broth. Being a classic French trained Chef, I follow the standard recipe for making a good broth by adding vegetables like carrots, onions, and the green part of the leek. For this recipe, I also add fresh ginger slices, soy sauce, sesame oil and a pinch of salt along with the vegetables.
Bring the water to a boil once again and slow cook the chicken on simmer for about 30 minutes. Please don't overcook the chicken! You can check the doneness by pulling the leg away from the body and skewering between it - juices should flow out. I usually leave the chicken sitting in the broth for another 10 minutes instead of reheating it when its time to serve. This way it remains warm until the rice is ready.
Quick recap: First, boil the chicken in water (10 min), then bring the chicken back to boiling point (5-10 min), then simmer for 30 minutes and rest the chicken in the cooling broth for another 10 minutes, that is all you need for a 2kg bird.
The magic happens when water turns into this wonderful broth. Funnily, I do use the broth for the rice and chilli sauce but I don't serve it as a soup with the final dish, I just think it doesn't need it.
You will have quite a bit broth left but don't worry! I used it for some really amazing dishes! I will share ideas at the end of the post.
Recipe for Ginger Rice
There are a few tricks to make the chicken rice. My way of making ginger rice is not authentic as I use short grain rice (sushi rice) in my recipe instead of jasmine rice. I just prefer the texture of the sushi rice but you can of course also use Jasmin rice. Wash the rice and soak it for at least an hour. This way the rice will cook faster and more evenly.
To make the rice you need the chicken broth. Wait for the chicken to finish cooking and then only strain the amount you need for the rice. This way, the broth will have maximum flavour and the chicken will remain hot until the rice is ready.
I have only used ginger to give flavour to the rice. Add a bit of vegetable oil to the pan, sauté the ginger slices to release flavour and then add the drained rice. I even sear the rice lightly before adding the broth. Since the chicken broth is already warm, the rice should be ready in less than 20 minutes.
Condiments for chicken rice
Condiments make this dish fun to eat, see below our suggestions:
Spring Onion, Ginger and Garlic
The tastiest addition to the chicken with ginger rice and chilli, is the spring onion and ginger condiment. Slice the spring onions into thin rounds and grate the ginger and garlic. Keep aside.
Now heat the vegetable oil and add the ginger and garlic, cook for about a minute and pour it over the spring onions. Add the Sesame oil and mix well. Leave it covered for 5 minutes to let the aromas blend in.
Homemade Chilli Sauce
Another good sauce recipe, I want to share with you is the Homemade Chilli sauce.
Made with a birds eye chilli, this sauce is not for everyone. Yes it's spicy but I find if you add small amounts while eating the dish, it adds flavour rather than heat. For a milder version make this crispy chili oil!
To make the sauce, we are using some of the chicken broth again to mix all the ingredients together. Once it is all combined well, reduce the sauce for a few minutes until you are happy with the thickness.
By the way, if you love making sauce from scratch like we do, go in the Chef's Pantry and make our homemade tomato ketchup recipe.
Pan Tossed Vegetables
We love our veggies! Even though serving vegetables with Hainanese Chicken Rice is not the traditional way, adding pan tossed julienned carrots, onions and leek to the recipe, adds another element to the dish.
Make sure you don't overcook the vegetables, they should be nice and crunchy. I keep it simple by just seasoning the vegetables with some sesame oil and salt. Believe it or not, even our 8 year old son likes these veggies especially when served with Hainanese Chicken Rice.
On the side, a few sliced cucumbers and tomatoes as a salad along with fresh coriander for garnish.
And last but not the least, kecap manis is a must for me. Kecap manis is a sweet, thick soy sauce, It tastes fantastic with my chicken rice.
If you are looking for a delicious one pot kinda' recipe, this is it: Whole Chicken with Ginger Rice and Chilli Sauce aka Hainanese Chicken Rice.
I hope you give this hainanese chicken recipe a try, it's the perfect comfort food for the entire family!
What to make with leftover chicken broth
Since the chicken broth has an Asian flavour, I mostly go with my Asian repertoire:
- For Pork dumplings, let them sit in this amazing chicken broth and serve as a meal with pak choy.
- For a penang chicken curry, add the broth for extra flavour.
- As a base for a chicken Khao Soi, just perfect for the turmeric broth and use the leftover chicken if there is any.
- Make a ramen soup with tofu and mushrooms.
- How about a chicken noodle soup for cold winter days.
- Or just as a base for any other soup.
Did you make our recipe version of Hainanese Chicken with Ginger Rice? Looking for more? Make our chicken with prune and shallot dish next.
Whole Chicken with Ginger Rice and Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 whole Organic Chicken (2kg, 3.2 lbs)
- 1 leek, green part only
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- ½ onion, peeled
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- salt
For the Ginger Rice
- 300 g short grain rice
- 450 ml chicken poaching broth
- 4 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the Ginger and Garlic Sauce
- 3 stalks spring onions
- 2 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 thumb ginger, peeled
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
For the Chilli Sauce
- 5 bird eye chillies, cut in half lengthwise
- 4 slices ginger
- 2 peeled garlic cloves
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 5 tablespoon chicken poaching broth
For the sautéed vegetables
- 2 peeled carrots
- 1 leek, white part
- ½ peeled brown onion
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- salt
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Wash the chicken with cold water and pat dry. Season the chicken with lots of salt inside and outside.
- Place the Chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil on high heat, that should take about 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat and remove all the scum coming to the surface. Once the water is clear, add the carrot, onion, leek, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil.
- Turn on high heat and bring back to a boil. Once the broth has boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer and let it further simmer for another 30 minutes more (less if you are using a smaller chicken). Check for doneness by sticking a skewer into the flesh under the leg, the juices should run clear. Once the chicken has cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let sit for another 10 minutes before taking the chicken out.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and strain the chicken broth. The broth can be served with the final dish or used for other preparations.
- To plate up the chicken remove the legs and breast from the chicken and cut into large pieces. I prefer to remove all the bones before serving the chicken but you could cut through with a sharp clever if you prefer to leave them on.
For the Ginger Rice
- Wash the rice and soak in cold water beforehand. Strain the rice.
- In a pot heat up the oil over medium high heat and add the sliced ginger. Fry lightly and add the drained rice. Cook for another minute and add the chicken broth. Bring the rice to a boil and reduce the heat to low.
- Cook the rice for 15 minutes covered and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
For the Ginger and Garlic Sauce
- Cut the spring onion in fine round slices. Grate the ginger and garlic.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and add the grated ginger and garlic. Cook for about a minute and our the oil over the spring onions, mix well. Add the sesame oil and leave covered for at least 5 minutes. Mix again and serve on the side.
For the Chilli Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a kitchen blender until well combined. Place the mixture in a small pot and reduce on low heat for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens up. Set aside to cool and serve on the side.
For the Vegetables
- Cut all the vegetables in julienne (fine stripes). Heat the sesame oil in a large pan over high heat and add the vegetables.
- Cook the vegetables by constantly mixing. Keep the vegetables crunchy, they should not take longer than 5 minutes. Serve separately in a bowl.
Claude VAUTE
Thank you for this new recipe !
AJIT+SINGH
Simple, but with complex flavours. What a meal! Thank you!
Renu
With your step by step guidance the recipe was a breeze. Thanks for an amazing recipe.