Hainanese Style Chicken “rice”

Gluten-free | Rice free | Low carb | Sugar-free | Dairy-free

Makes enough to serve 4 

Why it’s delicious

Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of the many delicious Singaporean National dishes. It combines flavoursome rice and tender, sweet chicken and packs a tasty punch. 

Despite this being a dish that I have eaten only a couple of times previously, I found it incredibly familiar and comforting, and every time we entered a Hawkers market in bustling downtown Singapore, I made a beeline for the queue waiting on a plate of rice tender chicken

Helpful hints and tips

Purchase the best-quality whole raw chicken your money can buy. The difference in how tender and delicious the chicken tastes after this style of gentle cooking is remarkable when comparing a barn-raised chicken to an organic free-range quality chicken. You will not be disappointed. 

To achieve such tender chicken, I learned how to poach the meat from a Singaporean Hainanese Chicken Rice master, and I am now teaching you this technique. Learning this technique will transform the way you cook chicken forever!

Ingredients

• 1 size 16-18 raw free-range organic chicken, patted dry with paper towels inside and out
• Himalayan or mineral salt
• A large bowl of ice 
• 2 tsp good quality sesame oil 

Chicken “rice”

• Fat from the raw chicken
• 3 tbsp low sodium tamari
• 2 tsp good quality sesame oil
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh garlic
• 800 g (1.7 lb) raw cauliflower florets, blended in a food processor to resemble rice
• 200 ml (7 oz) low sodium chicken stock
• Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dipping sauce

• 1 tbsp  good quality sesame oil
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh garlic
• 4 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 6 tbsp low sodium tamari
• 6 tbsp low sodium chicken stock

• 2 small Lebanese cucumbers, sliced, to serve 

Method

Prepare the chicken by trimming any excess fat from the cavity. Reserve the fat for cooking the cauliflower rice. Sprinkle the skin and cavity with salt and rub in to ensure even coverage. 

Bring an extra large pot of water to the boil. Using a set of sturdy tongs or a hook, hook into the top of the chicken and plunge it into the boiling water. Immediately remove the chicken from the water and allow the pot to come back to the boil. 

Add the chicken back to the pot, ensuring it is completely submerged, and place a lid on the pot. Turn the heat under the pot off and set your timer for 50 minutes. 

Allow the chicken to sit in the pot with the lid fully sealed for the full 50 minutes without disturbing it. After 50 minutes, remove the chicken carefully from the pot and check the chicken for doneness. 

There are a couple of ways you can do this:

• Using a skewer, poke a hole into the thickest part of the drumstick, heading towards the body. Remove the skewer and observe the liquid coming from the hole. It should be clear. If there is any red or blood, bring the pot back to the boil and submerge the chicken for a further 3-5 minutes or until the liquid runs clear.
• Using a metal thermometer, insert it deep into the chicken meat. The temperature for doneness is between 68-70C (154-158F). If the chicken temperature does not reach this, use the above method to continue cooking the chicken until it is done. 

When the chicken is cooked, immediately plunge and submerge it into a large bowl of ice-cold water. Allow the whole chicken to chill in the iced water for 20 minutes. This will halt the cooking process and prevent the chicken from overcooking and drying out. 

Take the chicken from the iced water and allow it to sit while you prepare the rice. 

For the “rice”, chop the reserved chicken fat into smaller pieces and place it in a wok or large frying pan set on medium to high heat. Add the tamari, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic and stir fry for a couple of minutes or until the fat from the chicken renders down. 

Add the riced cauliflower and stir fry vigorously for a minute, ensuring all the ingredients are well blended. Season with salt and pepper, and add the stock. Turn the heat down to medium to low and place a lid on the wok or frying pan. 

Allow the rice to steam gently for a couple of minutes before tasting it for flavour and adding more salt and pepper if necessary. 

Make the dipping sauce by heating a small frying pan on medium heat  with the sesame oil and add the garlic and ginger. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant and then remove from the heat. Add the tamari and chicken stock and stir to combine. 

Serve the chicken rice by slicing the chicken into pieces and serve alongside the chicken rice with some cucumbers and the dipping sauce. If you want to heat the chicken before serving, do this gently in the microwave for a minute or steam for a couple of minutes.