Although Hainanese Chicken Rice is a mainstay in food food courts and restaurants in Singapore and Malaysia, its origins lie with the Chinese living on the island of Hainan off the coast of China.
I would like to share this recipe which I found from my favorite blogger friends, Jaden at Steamy Kitchen. After attempting with so many recipes, I found this is the best I ever found. The Hainanese Chicken tastes so good and delicious with the combinations of the Ginger Scallion Sauce, Garlic Chili Sauce and some ABC brand sweet dark soy sauce. Hereby I would like to share this recipe with friends.
INGREDIENTS :
FOR POACHING THE CHICKEN
1 whole chicken ( about 3.5 to 4 lbs ), preferably Organic
Kosher salt
4" section of fresh ginger, sliced in 1/4" thickness
2 stalks green onions, cut into 1" sections ( both the green and white parts )
1 tsp sesame oil
FOR THE RICE:
2 tbsp chicken fat or 2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1" section of ginger, finely minced
2 cups long-grain uncooked rice, washed and soaked in cool water for 10 min or longer
( I soaked for 2 hours )
2 cups reserved chicken poaching broth
1" fresh ginger
a generous pinch of salt, to taste
FOR THE GARLIC CHILI SAUCE
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp reserved chicken poaching broth
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
4 cloves garlic
1" fresh ginger
a generous pinch of salt, to taste
FOR THE GINGER SCALLION SAUCE
(recipe courtesy of My Kitchen Snippets)
1/4 cup finely grated ginger
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE TABLE
1/4 cup dark soy sauce ( I used ABC brand sweet dark soy sauce )
Few sprigs cilantro leaves
1 cucumber, thinly sliced or cut into bite-sized chunks
METHODS:
1. To clean the chicken, with a small handful of kosher salt, rub the chicken all over, getting rid of any loose skin and dirt. Wash and pat the chicken very dry inside and outside. Season the chicken generously with some salt inside and outside. Stuff the chicken with the ginger slices and green onion. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with cold water to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Cook about 30 minutes more ( less if you're using smaller chicken ). Check for doneness by sticking a chopstick into the flesh under the leg and see if the juices run clear or insert a thermometer into the thickness part of the tight not touching the bone and it should be read 170F.
2. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Immediately lift and transfer the chicken into a bath of ice water to cool and discard the ginger and green onions. Don't forget to reserve the poaching broth for your rice, chili garlic sauce and accompanying soup. The quick cooling will stop the cooking process, keeping the meat soft and tender, and giving the skin a lovely firm texture.
3. To cook the rice: Drain the rice. In a wok or saucepan ( use a medium saucepan if you plan on cooking the rice on the stove top ), heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ginger and the garlic and fry until your kitchen smells like heaven. But be careful not to burn the aromatic!!! Add in your drained rice and stir to coat, cook for 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil, mix well.
To cook rice on the stove: In the same saucepan, add 2 cups of your reserved poaching broth, add salt and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Removed from heat and let it sit with the lid on for about 5-10 minutes or more.
To cook rice in rice cooker: Pour aromatics and rice ( after frying ) into your rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of your reserved poaching broth and salt. And turn on the rice cooker switch.
4. While your rice is cooking, removed the chicken from the ice bath and rub the outside of the chicken with the sesame oil. Carved the chicken into serving size to served.
5. To make the garlic chili sauce: Blend your garlic chili sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth and bright red.
6. To make the soup: You should have 6 to 7 cups of reserved poaching broth leftover to serve as soup. Just before serving, heat up the soup, taste and season with salt as necessary.
7. To make the ginger scallion sauce: Put the ginger, green onion and garlic in a bowl. Add in sesame oil, salt and pepper. Stir well and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat up the oil until smoking hot. Pour the hot oil carefully and slowly into the ginger mixture. Using a chopstick and mix it well.
NOTE: Please be careful when you pour the oil into the ginger mixture as the oil will splatter and bubble over the herbs.
Serve the chicken rice with garlic chili sauce, dark soy sauce, cucumber slices, and a bowl of hot broth garnished with cilantro leaves or green onions.
No comments:
Post a Comment