Hainanese Chicken Rice
MEDIUM 1 HOUR
• 1 whole chicken (about 3.5 pounds)
• 1.5 cups chicken stock
• 1 -2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups of rice
• 4 large slices ginger
• 2 shallots (peeled & sliced)
• 5 garlic crushed cloves
• 4 stalk green onion (sectioned)
• 3 stalk lemongrass
• 2-3 pieces of chicken skin or fat
1 To measure how much water is needed to cook the chicken - add water in a pot to cover half of the chicken, water should not cover chicken breast. Pour water out to the measuring cup to measure the quantity.
2 Boil a pot of water until hot, then soak the chicken for 30 seconds, take chicken out and place it on a plate. Wait 5 minutes, reboil water, then do this step 2 more times. Then soak the chicken in icy water. Drain well and put it aside.
3 Remove branches and stem of lemongrass. Use the back of the knife to beat the entire lemongrass to soften it. Remove and discard the first layer and the branches. Only use the middle part of the lemongrass to cut into fine pieces.
4 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot , stir fry shallots, garlic cloves and ginger in medium heat. When they are fragrant, add green onion and stir fry. Then add in (1.5 cups of chicken stock and water) to the exact quantity measured earlier. Add lemongrass into the soup as well. Add about 1 tbsp of salt and bring to boil.
5 Add in chicken to cook, keep the breast side up. (Make sure the soup does not cover the breast). Cover the lid and cook for 15 minutes using low heat. (Cook for 20 - 25 minutes for a bigger chicken).
6 When one side is cooked, bring the soup to boil. Turn off heat. Turn the chicken over with the breast side on top. Cover the lid and cook for another 15 minutes. (Cook 20 minutes for a bigger chicken). Check if the chicken is cooked by poking a stick in the thickest part of the thigh. If no blood comes out, it's cooked. If not, soak chicken for another 5 minutes.
7 Remove the chicken and put it on a rack and let it cool down. (Do not put chicken on a plate directly to avoid over cooking).
8 Filter the soup with a sieve. Put it aside and let it cool down.
9 Cook rice using a rice cooker. Add the chicken soup into the washed rice. Use a little bit less liquid than usual for cooking rice. When rice is done, add 1 tbsp olive oil (can substitute with chicken oil) in rice. Mix well.
10 Cut chicken into pieces. Serve with ginger & onion paste (minced ginger, chopped green onion, ¼ tsp chicken powder and ½ tsp salt mixed with cooked oil) or chili garlic sauce (2 tsp chili sauce, chopped garlic and 2 tsp soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil).
11 Slice ½ cucumber and 1 tomato, put them around the plate to garnish.