Hainanese Chicken Rice

Authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chicken rice is a dish of Chinese origin and most commonly associated with Hainanese, Malaysian and Singaporean cuisines. Foreigners love to have chicken rice when they travel to South East Asia. Well, instead of writing how good it is, why don’t you try to buy the ingredients and test it yourself in your home? An interesting fact is that every region in South East Asia has it's own regional variety. This post would not be long enough to mention all types of chicken rice. Roasted or non roasted, all chicken rice have it's own distinct flavor and are yummi! The differences in regional varieties are highlighted further down at the bottom. The video shows in practice step by step on how to prepare authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice.

I had the opportunity to eat chicken rice back in Europe, I can tell you that its by far not the same nor authentic as it is in Singapore or Malaysia. So, if you ever decide to pass by again, I’d recommend purchasing the ingredients in Asia locally. Hainanese Chicken Rice is considered as one of the national dish of Singapore and is often served everywhere from school canteens, hawker stalls or other outlets island wide.

Ingredients:

One whole kampung chicken
70 ml sesame oil
60 ml light soy sauce
Pandan leaves
60 ml of concentrated chicken stock
Sliced ginger
Finely chopped GarlicRice
Cooking Oil
Chicken fat
Salt
Shallot oilChili
1/3 chili padi
fresh lime
one red chili
chicken broth
minced ginger

All time favorite

Prepare chicken stock by boiling chicken bones in water for at least 1 hour (the longer you boil the better). Bring another pot of water to boil, making sure that there is enough water so that the entire chicken can be submerged. Once the water is boiling, put all the ingredients listed above into the boiling water. Next, dip the chicken into the boiling water and dip it a few times until the skin is cooked. Once the skin is cooked, leave the chicken under the water to cook. This is to ensure that the skin does not break. The cooking time is about 30 minutes for a 1.5kg chicken. Ensure that the water be kept just below the boiling point during the entire cooking process. Once chicken is cooked, put the chicken immediately into cool water for a few minutes. This will stop the cooking process and ensure that the meat will remain tender and the skin crunchy.

To cook the rice, combine the concentrated chicken stock and the other ingredients listed above with enough water from the chicken broth to cover the rice. The water level should be as per the normal levels for cooking white rice. Cook the rice as per the normal method. 

To prepare chili sauce, first squeeze the lime to obtain fresh lime juice. Next, blend the ingredients in a blender until it is fluid and smooth. Finally, add some salt and sugar to taste and mix thoroughly. 

Enjoy your chicken rice! 

Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore

The Regional Variations of Chicken Rice

CHICKEN RICE SINGAPORE

The prevalence of stalls selling Hainanese chicken rice as their primary specialty in Singapore underscores the dish's popularity amongst Singaporeans and overseas visitors. Hainanese chicken rice is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore and is often served at international expositions and global events abroad, and in Singaporean-run restaurants overseas. Hainanese chicken rice is also one of the few local dishes served on Singapore Airlines flights.

In Singapore, Hainanese chicken rice is served everywhere from school canteens, hawker stalls to major restaurants. There are Hainanese chicken rice stalls that have established franchise or branch outlets, and these include Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice, Boon Tong Kee, Loy Kee, Wee Nam Kee and others which have many outlets island wide. It is very common to find Rice Balls in such chain eateries. The price range is around S$ 2.50–4.50 (the latter if the dish includes a drumstick). Most stalls serve extras such as braised dark soy hard boiled egg, chicken liver, braised dark soy firm tofu (Tau-kwa) and kai-lan with oyster sauce as side dishes and a bowl of plain chicken stock soup. The choice of white (steamed) or roasted chicken is commonly available at almost all eateries.

Hainanese-owned coffee shops tend to serve a variety of Hainanese cuisine, with chicken rice being the main highlight. Other Hainanese dishes include pork chop, vegetables, fish, eggs and char siew. Most of these shops are air-conditioned, and are mainly concentrated at Purvis Street and Seah Street.The dish was popularized in Singapore in the 1950s by Moh Lee Twee, whose Swee Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant operated from 1947 to 1997.

CHICKEN RICE IN MALAYSIA

In Malaysia, Hainanese chicken rice is also called nasi ayam (not to be confused with nasi lemak); nasi means rice and ayam means chicken in Bahasa Malaysia. Most chicken rice vendors in the country also offer an alternative of roasted chicken instead of the regular poached or steamed chicken. Other variations include a BBQ version or also a honey-roasted choice.

Some restaurants offer Guangxi-style white cut chicken as part of the chicken rice experience. An important heritage dish for Malaysian Chinese descended from immigrants from Guangxi province, it is always served during festive or special occasions. The chicken is drenched prior to serving with nam, a sauce prepared with chopped garlic chives, ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

In Malacca, the chicken rice is served as rice balls rather than a bowl of rice, commonly known as Chicken rice balls. Steamed rice is shaped into golf ball-sized orbs and served alongside the chopped chicken. This dish is eaten the same way as the regular version, making sure to get a portion of chicken, some rice and the soy and chili condiment into each mouthful. Older chefs argue that the rice was originally shaped into balls because it needed to be kept warm from the time it was cooked (often earlier in the day) until mealtime. The rice balls, when stored in wooden containers, apparently stayed warm for a longer time. The other theory is that the rice balls were more portable and were easier for laborers working on plantations to transport from home. Today, rice balls are appreciated more as a novelty than anything else.

Bean sprouts chicken (ngah choi kai) of Ipoh, Malaysia, is a related dish. The chicken is served with blanched bean sprouts and white rice instead of seasoned rice. This is a very popular version of the rice and many other chicken rice stalls have slowly followed it by adding bean sprouts along with the chicken. The chicken rice dish can also be further accompanied by a simple pork meatball soup. In addition to that, various hawkers also sell a variety of chicken innards – gizzard, liver, intestines – which are also equally popular for chicken rice lovers.

Chicken rice, or nasi ayam, is also very popular with the Malay community, with the dish adapted to suit the Malay liking for spicier and more robustly flavored food. The chicken is steamed and then fried or roasted, although this usually results in a drier texture for the chicken meat. The chili condiment has also been modified: less garlic and ginger are used, and tamarind juice is added to the condiment for a tangier taste. Chicken rice has become extremely popular among Muslims in Malaysia such that certain food stalls can survive very well by serving only Chicken rice.

CHICKEN RICE IN THAILAND

Hainanese chicken rice is a common dish in Thailand where it is called khao man kai, literally meaning "chicken-oil rice". The chickens used in Thailand for this dish can be free-range chickens of local breeds, resulting in a leaner and tastier dish, but increasingly meat chickens from large-scale poultry farms are being used. Khao man kai is served with a garnish of cucumbers and occasionally chicken blood tofu and fresh coriander, along with a bowl of nam sup, a clear chicken broth that often contains sliced daikon. The accompanying sauce is most often made with tauchu (also known as yellow soybean paste), thick soy sauce, chili, ginger, garlic, and vinegar.

One famous Bangkok neighborhood for Khao man kai is Pratunam in Ratchathewi district, located near to Platinum Fashion Mall, CentralWorld, and Ratchaprasong Intersection. Several restaurants in Pratunam received Bib Gourmand awards from the 2018 Michelin Guide. It has been reported that these restaurants are especially popular amongst Hong Kong, Japanese, and Taiwanese tourists. Khao man kai is also well known in other areas, including Bang Sue, Talat Phlu, Yaowarat, and Phasi Charoen near Bang Wa BTS station and Phyathai 3 Hospital including various places viz Thanon Tok near Rama III Bridge, Thong Lor on Sukhumvit Road, Wat Suthiwararam School, Yan Nawa, Bang Kapi, Wat Saket and Saphan Kwai neighborhoods etc.