Easy Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Known as Singapore’s national dish, Hainanese chicken rice may look simple, but it is packed with so much flavor! This dish typically calls for cooking a whole chicken but to make it easier and healthier, I decided to use chicken breasts instead. If you love ginger and garlic, you’ll love chicken rice!

Easy Hainanese Chicken Rice

Course Main Course
Cuisine Singaporean
Servings 6 people
Author Eat the Wind

Ingredients

The Rice

  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 inches ginger peeled and minced
  • 2 shallots peeled and minced
  • 2.5 cups Thai Jasmine rice washed and drained in a sieve
  • 3 ¾ cups chicken stock

The Chicken

  • 2 inches ginger peeled and bruised
  • 6 cloves garlic peeled and bruised
  • 1 carton chicken stock
  • 4 large chicken breasts bone-in
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

The Gingery-Garlicky Chili Sauce

  • 6 large red chilies stems removed
  • 2 Thai bird’s eye chilies stems removed
  • 2 inch ginger peeled and bruised
  • 5 cloves garlic peeled and bruised
  • 2 limes juiced
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of chicken stock from poaching liquid

Instructions

  • After your rice is washed and drained (try to ensure it’s as dry as possible), heat up 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the garlic, ginger and shallots. When the oil is fragrant, add the raw rice to the mixture. Fry everything together for a few minutes, ensuring the rice kernels are coated with the oil.
  • Add the rice kernels plus all the aromatics into the rice cooker. Pour in the chicken broth and set it to cook. If you don’t have a rice cooker, place the rice, aromatics and chicken broth in a medium pot with a lid. Bring the broth to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid and lower the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the rice is cooked.
  • In a large pot, place the chicken breasts, ginger and garlic. Pour enough broth over the chicken breasts to cover them over an inch. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let them simmer for around 10 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts and let them rest for about 5 minutes. Reserve the poaching liquid for further use.
  • Cut the chicken breasts into pieces. Drizzle sesame oil over the chicken. Add ¼ cup hot poaching liquid to a tablespoon of oyster sauce in a small bowl and mix them together to form a sauce. Pour over the chicken.
  • To make the chili sauce, blend all the dry ingredients together into a paste. Add the lime juice and chicken stock to the consistency that you want. Typically authentic chicken rice chili sauce has a watery consistency.
  • Enjoy the chicken rice with slices of cucumber and/or green onions! The poaching liquid can also be enjoyed as a side of soup.


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