Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice is very similar to the Thai dish Khao Mun Gai. It’s a gently poached chicken with skin on the bone, and then the resulting broth is used to cook rice, as well as served alongside the rice as a small soup.

It’s traditionally served as a street food with several sauces, a sambal chili garlic sauce and a soy vinegar dipping sauce.

  • 2 servings
  • 10 mins
  • 50 mins
  • 60 mins
  • Ingredients

    • 2 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
    • 200 grams white rice
    • 1 ounce ginger, roughly chopped
    • 1 ounce green onion, chopped
    • to taste salt
    • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
    • 10 grams sugar

    Instructions

    1. Submerge chicken
      Submerge the chicken in 1000 grams of water with half of the ginger and green onion. Put on medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil.
    2. Skim Fat
      Let the water boil for a minute, and then use a sieve to skim the fat off the top of the water.
    3. Simmer while covered
      Cover and reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for 30 minutes.
    4. Chill water.
      Remove the chicken thighs and submerge in cold water. Reserve the chicken stock that the chicken has been boiling in.
    5. Cook Rice
      Rinse the rice in the clay pot 3 times. Add 400 grams of the reserved chicken stock, half of the chopped green onion, and salt. Place on high heat.
    6. Brown Ginger and Garlic
      While waiting for the rice to come to a boil, place the garlic and ginger in hot oil on a frying pan and brown for 2 minutes on high heat.
    7. Boil Rice
      Put half of the fried ginger and garlic into the rice clay pot as it comes to a boil. When the rice has reached a rolling boil, cover and reduce the heat to low.
    8. Allow the rice to simmer, covered for 20 minutes. After that time, turn the stove off.
    9. Mix Sambal oil
      While waiting for the rice to cool, mix 2 tablespoons of sriracha with 2 tablespoons of the reserved chicken stock and the remaining fried garlic and ginger.
    10. Mix soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar and make the soy dipping sauce.
    11. Serve
      Remove the chicken from the water and chop into slices. Serve immediately with a scoop of the cooked rice, and a small bowl of the chicken broth garnished with the remaining green onions. Serve with both the sambal sauce and soy vinegar sauce.

    This recipe was adapted from:

    Will Chiong

    Written by Will Chiong who lives and works in New York building useful things.