My dad has always said that the Chinese are the most pitiable restaurant workers in the entire industry. Some of this has to do with him growing up in my grandparents’ restaurant and resenting every minute of it. But his official rationale was something to do with all of the manual labor required to prepare Chinese dishes and the oppressive heat of the massive wok required to bring everything together in the end — “All Japanese have to do is scoop rice and cut fish.”
– jeffrey
The Chinese do seem to have a knack for picking the most strenuous way of doing things and finding a strange sense of honor in the struggle, Some of the results are undeniable: the Chinese written language, the Great Wall, Peking duck… Is everything that is worthwhile in Chinese culture extremely arduous? Was is the Chinese equivalent of Easy-Mac?
While maybe not at Kraft-levels of simplicity, Hainanese chicken rice is maybe one of the easiest Chinese dishes to execute. Don’t let the whole chicken intimidate you from a recipe that is, in its essence, gently placing something in a pot of barely boiling water for 60 minutes. And the best part is, you end up with an impressive dish that people think you’ve slaved all day over.
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 60 minutes | Total cook time: 75 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 5 cloves garlic
- 4-5 slices of ginger
- 3 scallions
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 cups rice
For the ginger scallion sauce
- 1/4 cup neutral flavored oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Rinse the chicken clean, trimming off any excess pieces of skin and fat (reserve for later). Use 1 tablespoon of salt to season the inside and outside of the chicken (rubbing the salt into the skin). Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
In a large pot, fill with enough water to completely submerge the chicken. Make sure the pot is large enough such that the water doesn’t overflow when the chicken is actually placed inside. Add the remaining tablespoon of salt, garlic, roughly chopped scallion, sliced ginger, and turmeric. Let the water come to a boil and then gently place the chicken inside, then turn the heat down to low (should be just enough to maintain the temperature of the water but lower than simmer). Depending on the size of the chicken, leave in the pot for 45-60 minutes.
There are a few ways to see if the meat is fully cooked if you don’t have a meat thermometer that can tell you when the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. 1) You can poke the thigh area and see if juices running out are clear. 2) You can check the bottom joint of the drumstick to see if the skin has separated, exposing the bone on the lowest part of the leg. When done, gently lift the chicken out of the pot and into an ice bath until it comes to room temperature.
Render the reserved chicken skin/fat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a separate pan. Remove solids once crispy, add the rinsed rice, and toss to evenly coat. Add it all to a rice cooker and fill to the appropriate level indicated by your rice cooker with the broth used to cook the chicken.
For the sauce, add the ginger, scallion, and salt to a small heatproof bowl or ramekin. Heat up the oil in a small saucepot until it has the same viscosity as water. Carefully pour over the mixture and stir.