HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE
Chicken
1.5 kg chicken
½ tsp ground white pepper
1-2 tsp salt
1” ginger, smashed
8 garlic cloves, smashed
2 sprigs scallions, cut in quarters
2 cloves
½ star anise
1 onion, halved
10 black peppercorns
Water to cover
For final basting after chicken is cooked:
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
Procedure:
1. Put the chicken in the pot and pour water just to cover. Remove the chicken.
2. Treat the chicken to a spa (Happy chickens give happy meals, haha) by massaging and rubbing it all over with coarse salt. This will lighten and polish the skin and remove any smell from it. Make sure that you do not poke any holes in the skin. Wash thoroughly under cold running water.Dry with paper towels.
3. Rub the chicken inside and outside with white pepper and salt. Insert half of the ginger, garlic cloves and scallions inside the cavity. Set aside.
4. Turn on the stove to medium heat. Add the cloves, star anise, onion, black peppercorns and the rest of the ginger, garlic cloves and scallions to the pot. Cover.
5. After it comes to a rolling boil, leave it boiling for a few more minutes. Then, slowly drop in the whole chicken. Cover.
6. Boil the chicken for 15-18 minutes. Turn off flame.
7. Allow the chicken to steep inside for 1 ½ hours. LEAVE IT ALONE.DO NOT OPEN THE POT AT ANYTIME TO KEEP THE HEAT INSIDE.
8. After 1 ½ hrs, slowly remove the chicken from the pot and plunge the entire chicken into an ice water bath (water with lots of ice). Let it sit in the ice water bath for 10 min. Remove and set aside.
9. Chop and baste with 2 tsp each of sesame oil and light soy sauce before serving.
Chicken Rice:
Ingredients:
2 cups rice
2 ½ c chicken broth (from boiled chicken)
2 Tbsp chicken fat
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 “ ginger, minced
1 tbsp shallots or 2 stalks of spring onions, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sesame oil
2 pandan leaves (optional)
Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and ginger in the chicken fat for about a minute in the rice cooker pot on top of the stove. Add shallots/spring onions .
2. Stir in butter and rice and mix until all the grains are covered with the fat/butter mixture.
3. Add salt, sesame oil, chicken broth and pandan leaves.
4. Put in the rice cooker and cook until done.
Sauce #1 for Hainanese-style Chicken:
2 tablespoon of Oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seed
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
2 tablespoon of shallots, minced finely
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped finely
1 sprig of parsley, chopped finely
2 tablespoon of garlic oil and golden garlic bits (mince 1 garlic clove + 2 tbsp oil. Cook in very low fire until garlic is light brown)
3 tablespoon of chicken broth (from the boiled chicken)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seed
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
2 tablespoon of shallots, minced finely
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped finely
1 sprig of parsley, chopped finely
2 tablespoon of garlic oil and golden garlic bits (mince 1 garlic clove + 2 tbsp oil. Cook in very low fire until garlic is light brown)
3 tablespoon of chicken broth (from the boiled chicken)
Sauce #2 for Hainanese-style Chicken:
1 ½ tsp lime juice (I use bottled since fresh lime is not readily available in Manila)
1 Tbsp chicken stock (from the boiled chicken)
1 tsp sugar
3-4 tsp Sriracha Chili Sauce (I use the rooster brand available at the Pho Hoa branch in Eastwood City)
2 cloves garlic
½” ginger, minced
Salt to taste
Sauces
Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Let stand 30 min before serving.
Option #2 for sauces if served with sweet dark soy sauce:
Option #2 for sauces if served with sweet dark soy sauce:
Since I found sweet dark soy sauce in the supermarket, I decided to serve the sauces just as they do in the restaurants. The diner will then combine the sauces (chili, sweet dark soy sauce and ginger-garlic oil) according to his/her preference.
Ginger-Garlic Oil:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 Tablespoons shallots, minced
3 stalks spring onions, sliced finely
4 Tablespoons oil (I used soya oil since that's what I had but sometimes I also use olive oil)
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp sesame oil
Combine all ingredients and heat under very low fire.
Side Dish:
Momofuku Cucumber Pickle Relish:
Brine:
1 c water, piping hot
½ c rice wine vinegar
6 T sugar
2 ½ t salt
Slice cucumbers into rings using a mandolin or the slicer of your grater. Put in a glass jar and pour brine to cover. Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for a month in refrigerator.
My Notes:
There are different ways of cooking the chicken:
1. Bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add all the ingredients including the chicken. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 25-30 min, uncovered. Turn off heat. Cover and steep for 1 ½ hrs.
2. Put water in a pot. Add all the ingredients except chicken. Let water come to a rolling boil. Add chicken. Cover. When the cover starts shaking and making funny noises, turn off heat and steep for 1 ½ hrs.
3. I tried the #2 method. But, my Calphalon pot never shook or made any funny noises. Maybe a pot made in China would do this? Haha. Thus, I ended up with overcooked chicken. My latest foray of 15 min. boiling produced that restaurant texture of moist, tender but still springy chicken.
I only use the above rice recipe when I don’t have the Singapore Hainanese Chicken Spice Paste Packet (Asian Home Gourmet). I saute the chicken fat and butter. Add the Spice Packet. Add the rice and chicken broth and cook in the rice cooker. This rice packet is really good.
The ice bath gives the chicken that jelly taste in the skin. So don’t skip that part.
I always debone my chicken before serving. I then chop and baste it with the sesame oil/light soy sauce mixture.
The cucumber pickle relish is optional but it goes well with the Hainanese Chicken Rice.
The Hainanese Chicken Rice is usually served with a sweet, dark soy sauce, ginger oil and chile sauce. I can’t find the sweet, dark soy sauce in Manila. This soy sauce has a thick texture. So, I’ve replaced it with Sauces #1 and #2.
After using the chicken stock for the rice and sauces, there is still some left over. So, I add leeks and carrots and serve it as a broth.
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment