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Must-Try Hainanese Chicken Rice

Americanhard4 servings
Must-Try Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ingredients

  • whole chicken
  • stalk spring onion (Optional)
  • clove sgarlic, crushed, or to taste
  • (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root (Optional)
  • water to cover
  • salt to taste
  • tablespoon slight soy sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon swhite sugar, or to taste
  • tablespoon garlic oil (Optional)
  • teaspoon sesame oil
  • cup suncooked rice, or more to taste
  • clove sgarlic, minced, or to taste
  • (1 inch) piece ginger, crushed (Optional)
  • salt to taste
  • red chile peppers, seeded and chopped
  • limes, juiced
  • clove sgarlic
  • (1/2 inch) piece ginger (Optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • pinch white sugar, or to taste
  • limes, juiced
  • clove sgarlic
  • (1 inch) piece young ginger (Optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Trim chicken of all excess fat, reserving fat.
  2. Place chicken, spring onion, 3 cloves crushed garlic, and one 1 inch piece ginger in a large pot. Pour in enough water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, skimming any scum off the surface, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 1 hour.
  3. Remove chicken from the pot, reserving broth. Rub chicken with salt. Chop into pieces and arrange on a serving plate.
  4. Combine soy sauce, 3 tablespoons reserved chicken broth, 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar, garlic oil, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Drizzle over chicken pieces.
  5. Melt reserved chicken fat in a large pot over medium heat. Add rice, 3 cloves minced garlic, crushed 1 inch piece ginger, and salt; cook and stir until rice is glossy and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Pour enough reserved chicken broth into the pot to cover rice by half an inch. Cover; bring to a boil. Cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rice sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
  7. Combine red chile peppers, juice of 2 limes, 2 tablespoons reserved chicken broth, 3 cloves garlic, one 1/2 inch piece ginger, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 pinch sugar in a blender; blend until garlic chile dip is smooth.
  8. Combine juice of 2 limes, 2 tablespoons reserved chicken broth, 3 cloves garlic, one 1 inch piece ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a blender; blend until ginger dip is smooth.
  9. Serve garlic chile and ginger dips alongside chicken and rice.

Tips

You can also prepare the rice in a rice cooker in step 6. The tangy garlic and ginger dips are traditionally part of the package, but you can omit them if you like.