One-Pot Hainanese Chicken & Rice

All the flavour and all the flair – but faster!

Recipe courtesy of RecipeTin Eats: Tonight by Nagi Maehashi, published by Macmillan Australia, RRP: $54.99, photography by Nagi Maehashi

Hainanese chicken rice is one of the world’s greatest chicken-with-rice dishes. The idea of gently poaching a whole chicken, then using the stock to cook and flavour the accompanying rice is sheer brilliance! The only problem is it takes a good couple of hours. So when time is of the essence, forget the whole chicken and the poaching – use thighs instead and cook them together with the rice in a single pot! I also cook the rice in store-bought chicken stock, solving another common issue: bland rice. The whole recipe takes a fraction of the time of authentic chicken rice but is just as tasty. (PS: The ginger shallot sauce makes this dish, so don’t even think about skipping it!)

SERVES: 4 | PREP: 15 MINUTES | COOK: 20 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 4 x 220–250 g bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs *1
• 3/4 tsp cooking salt*
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

GINGER SHALLOT SAUCE *2

• 1 lightly packed cup (55 g) finely sliced green onion* (about 4 stems)
• 2 tbsp finely grated ginger*
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt*
• 5 tbsp (75 ml) vegetable or grapeseed oil

CHICKEN RICE

• 15 g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp finely julienned peeled ginger*
• 1 tsp finely minced garlic*
• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) long-grain rice, uncooked
• 2 x 2 cm slices unpeeled ginger
• 2 1/4 cups (560 ml) low-salt chicken stock*
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt*
• 1 green onion* stem, folded in half, then tied in a knot

TO SERVE

• Sambal oelek* (or other chilli paste)
• 2 cucumbers*, sliced

Method:

Ginger shallot sauce – Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside for at least 5 minutes. The green onion will soften. (I make this while the rice is cooking.)

Season chicken – Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides with the salt and pepper.

Chicken rice – Heat the butter in a large heavy-based pot* over medium–low heat. Add the julienned ginger and garlic and sauté for 1 minute until light golden. Add the rice and stir to coat in the butter for 30 seconds.

Cook rice – Add the ginger slices, stock, salt and green onion. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a simmer. Once there are bubbles all around the edge and the middle of the surface is rippling, gently place the chicken thighs in a single layer on the surface of the rice (tuck them into a ball shape, as needed, to fit). Don’t push them into the liquid. When the water starts bubbling again, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 14 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Rest rice – With the lid still on, remove the pot from the stove and rest for 10 minutes.

Serve – Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Fluff the rice. Remove the bone from the chicken and cut the meat into slices. Serve with the rice, ginger shallot sauce, sambal oelek and cucumber.

NOTES

1. You could also use 6–8 drumsticks or boneless, skinless chicken thighs. And, though the recipe will work with chicken breast, it’s not recommended because the chicken will be drier than ideal and there won’t be much chicken juice to flavour the rice.

2. Shallot is another name for green onions. ‘Ginger green onion sauce’ doesn’t have the same ring to it, so I’m sticking with the common name!

LEFTOVERS Fridge 3 days, freezer 3 months.