Recipe: Classic Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ingredients:

(serves 4–6)

8 cups (2 liters) chicken stock or 4 teaspoons chicken stock granules dissolved in 8 cups (2 liters) hot water
1 large fresh chicken (about 1 1/2 kg/3 lbs), cleaned and patted dry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 spring onion, thinly sliced, to garnish
1 sliced tomato, to garnish
1 sliced cucumber, to garnish
Sprigs of coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish

Preparation:

1. Make the Chilli Ginger Sauce.
2. Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil in a pot and add the chicken. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let the chicken steep for 15 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the stock, plunge it in ice water to cool for 1 minute, and drain. Bring the stock back to a boil, return the chicken to the pot and repeat the steeping process another 3 times so that the chicken has a total of 60 minutes of steeping in the stock. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Keep the stock warm to cook the chicken rice. When cool enough to handle, cut the chicken into serving pieces. Drizzle the soy sauce and sesame oil over and garnish with coriander leaves.
3. To cook the chicken rice, heat the oil in a pan over medium to high heat and brown the garlic and ginger, about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir-fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the pandanus leaves, if using, and 4 cups (1 liter) of the reserved stock, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Alternatively, cook the seasoned rice in a rice cooker.
4. Place each of the sauces in separate serving dishes. Pour the remaining chicken stock into small individual bowls and garnish with freshly sliced spring onion. Serve the chicken with the hot chicken rice, sauces, sliced tomato and cucumber, and small bowls of the chicken stock on the side.

Excerpted from Food of Singapore: Simple Street Food Recipes from the Lion City with permission from Tuttle Publishing.