Prepare a healthy, but delicious Hainanese Chicken dish that you can enjoy whenever you want so long as you have the ingredients. You can even cook it beforehand, so you can carve and have it served on the dining table within minutes.
Rather than having to search for a restaurant where you can savor this delightful treat, you can follow this recipe and savor this scrumptious meal in the comfort of your own home. You can even change the sauce that is served on the side so you can enjoy every spoonful even further.
Hainanese Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 4 cups water
- 2 stalks onion leeks, sliced
- 3 Tbsps. ginger, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 Tbsp. whole peppercorns
- 1 Tbsp. salt
- Ice water, for ice bath
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, for chicken
For the Ginger Oil Sauce:
- 5 Tbsps. ginger, grated
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. spring onions, chopped
- 2 Tbsps. light soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
For the Plating:
- Hainanese Chicken Rice
- Sliced cucumber
- Sesame seeds
- Fresh cilantro
- Chili paste
- Hoisin sauce
- Ginger oil sauce
Instructions
- In a pot with boiling water, add the onion leeks, sliced ginger, garlic, whole peppercorns, and salt. Leave it to simmer for a minute.
- After letting the poaching liquid simmer for a while, gently drop the chicken in. Make sure the chicken is fully submerged. Do not allow the poaching liquid to boil. When it starts to simmer, turn down the fire so the chicken cooks slowly. Cover and let it cook for 35 - 40 minutes.
- Grate the ginger. In a pot, heat the oil. Add the chopped garlic. Once the garlic has become brown and crisp, add the ginger, chopped spring onions, and light soy sauce. Let it cook for 1 minute. Finish it with sesame oil. Once it has finished cooking, transfer it to a bowl. Set aside.
- If the chicken is boiling too much, you can turn off the fire for 3 minutes, then turn it back on.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and drop it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Let it soak for around 5 minutes. Once it has cooled, remove it from the ice bath and pat it dry. Rub the chicken with sesame oil.
- If you want to cook hainanese rice, sauté the garlic ginger in oil. Cook the rice as you would, but with the stock of the chicken.
- Carve the chicken. Arrange it on a plate with the hainanese rice. Seve it with chili paste, hoisin sauce, and ginger oil on the side.
With how simple it is to prepare, you can cook this for your loved ones at any time. Just make sure to cook earlier than usual so you have ample time to cool the chicken, carve into it, and arrange it beautifully on a plate.
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