Homemade Hainanese Chicken Rice

By Home cook : Sumiitra Yiohan Sooriaarratchi

Ingredients

1 whole free range chicken (Cleaned and washed).
2 tea spoons sea salt.
2 spring onions chopped.
1 piece of ginger (5 inches).
1 bulb of garlic.
2 table spoons sesame oil.
Water for steaming – 2 cups – if you like more soup then add more water. You will need to add extra water when steaming the chicken because the remaining water after steaming will be used for cooking the rice. Reserve some of the remaining soup to eat with the chicken rice.

Also reserve one table spoon of the soup to make the chili sauce.

Method

1. Chop the ginger into chunks.
2. Peel the garlic and slice some of the cloves in half. Some cloves can be kept whole.
3. Stuff the chicken with ginger, garlic and spring onion.
4. Rub the sesame oil and salt all over the chicken.
5. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil. This helps to distribute the heat evenly.
6. Place the chicken in a steamer and cover. Bring the water to boil and steam for 45 mins on a low flame.
7. After 45 mins check the meat by passing a skewer into chicken to make sure not blood appears. If you see blood then cook for another 10 mins.
   
   A similar method for steaming the chicken can be found here.

Method for the Sauce

Method for making the Rice

1. 3 cups of rice washed.
2. Put the rice in the rice cooker and add 3 cups of the chicken soup already made. Remember that we are cooking the rice with the soup in a rice cooker.
3. When the rice is done serve on to a plate. Place the chicken on a wooden block and cut it into slices with a cleaver. Place it on the rice. Serve with the sauce, slices of cucumber and a small bowl of soup.