Hainanese Chicken

A few months back, there has been a surge of hainanese chicken places all over the metro. They range from the very authentic and slightly expensive- Tao Yuan tops our list- to the "fakes". This dish which has travelled all the way fom Singapore proves to be a mainstay as it has become a rather healthier alternative to the classic favorite fried chicken. We, are, afterall a Chicken Country.

Hainese Chicken

I was really surprised to learn that it was so so easy to make something so good and healthy. And you need very few ingredients too! Thinking slow-cooked? Think again- it's literally fast-cook =D!

Here's the version I made at home.
Recipe after the jump!


Hainanese Chicken

What you need:
6 pcs whole leg quarters (the fatter your chicken is, the better, and the best quality chicken are really those fat and succulent Hongkong Chicken which also gives your chicken the naturally yellow color when cooked- I used ordinary chicken here btw)
6-8 cups water
few slices of Ginger
Onion Leeks
Rock Salt (a lot)
Cucumber (for garnish)
Ice Bath
Hainan Rice (insturctions below)
(and maybe 20 minutes of your time =) )


For the dipping sauce:
1/4 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C Rice Wine
1/4 C Soup (from the chicken)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Chilli Garlic Sauce


What to do:
- Rub Chicken pieces all over with rock salt. About 2-3 Tablespoons per chicken should be fine. Let stand for 15 minutes or upto 2hours
- In a large pot, boil 6-8 cups of water with the slices of ginger.
- Put in all chicken, and wait for it to boil vigorously again. Once it boils, set the fire to low (lowest you can)
- Continue to cook for 15 minutes. Check if chicken is done- or when liquid runs clear when chicken is forked
- When done, remove from heat and immediately transfer to prepared ice bath. This prevents the chicken from being overcooked.
- Chop to small pieces (as per photo), around 5-7 pcs per leg quarter. Serve on top of sliced cucumbers, with the soup, hainan rice and dipping sauce

For the dipping sauce:
- Mix together all ingredients- make sure you do this while the soup is still hot. Adjust according to taste. I usually put more than 1/4 cup of soup

For the hainan rice:
- Cook jasmine rice in the soup from the chicken, include the fat, but REMOVE the scum.
- May add finely chopped onions to the rice prior to cooking

You may serve the chicken cold (the traditional way) or hot =)

Enjoy!

abbey