Garlic oil Hainanese chicken rice
- Prepare
- over 2 hours
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 2
- Dietary
- Dairy-freeEgg-freeNut-free
Hainanese chicken rice is a beloved delicacy which uses garlic, ginger, chilli and chicken poaching liquid to create four delicious sauces to serve alongside the chicken and rice.
Ingredients
For the chilli sauce
- 5 bird’s-eye chillies, roughly chopped
- 50g/1¾oz ginger, peeled
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white caster sugar
- 50ml/2fl oz lime juice
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 20–50ml/¾–2fl oz chicken stock
For the chicken
- 1cm/½in piece ginger, smashed
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 spring onions
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 whole chicken legs (bone in, skin on)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
For the garlic oil
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 echalion shallot, finely chopped
- 1 birds-eye chilli, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp white caster sugar
- 1 tsp MSG
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
For the garlic rice
- 400g/14oz jasmine rice
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 50g/1¾oz chicken skin (optional)
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 15g/½oz ginger, peeled and finely chopped
For the ginger sauce
- 2cm/¾in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp of salt
- ½ tsp of MSG
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
To serve
Method
To make the chilli sauce, add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend. Add more chicken stock according to preferred consistency.
Taste and adjust with more salt, vinegar or sugar, if needed. Let sit for at least 2 hours.
To make the chicken, bring 1 litre/1¾ pints of cold water to the boil in a large lidded saucepan. Add the ginger, salt, whole spring onions, turmeric and the chicken legs. Put the lid on and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes.
Once cooked, remove the chicken and plunge into a bowl of ice water, whilst reserving the cooking liquid.
Add the light soy sauce and sesame oil to the reserved cooking liquid, stir to combine and set aside.
To make the garlic oil, add the garlic to a bowl of cold water, stir and drain.
Add the vegetable oil, garlic, shallot and chilli to a small saucepan. Turn the heat onto medium high and fry for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the garlic and shallots have turned golden brown, turn the heat off. Add in the salt, sugar, MSG and oyster sauce. Stir to combine, pour into a bowl and set aside.
To make the garlic rice, wash the rice in cold water, drain and repeat twice more, or until the water runs clear.
Add the vegetable oil to the pan and heat on medium high for 1 minute. If using the chicken skin, add to the pan and render until the skin gets crispy. Remove the skin and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1–2 minutes, or until fragrant but not brown.
Add the washed rice, stir and fry for 1–2 minutes. Ladle in most of the reserved chicken cooking liquid (saving some for serving) until it covers roughly 2–3cm/¾–1in above the rice.
Put the lid on and turn the heat to high, bringing it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to the lowest heat and cook for 18 minutes. Once cooked, turn the heat off, keep the lid on and set aside.
To make the ginger sauce, add the ginger, spring onion, salt and MSG to a small bowl and stir to combine.
Add the vegetable oil to a small pan and heat on high until just shy of smoking, around 2 minutes. Gently pour the oil into the spring onion and ginger. Mix well and set aside.
To serve, grab a large serving platter or plate with a rounded edge and cover with the cucumber.
Remove the chicken from the ice bath. Lay the chicken skin side down and run the knife along where the bones are. Using your thumb and index finger, push the meat away from the bone and pull the bone out (use a bit of force). Chop the chicken into 2cm/1in slices, skin side up.
Add the sliced chicken on top of the cucumber. Pour the rest of the reserved chicken cooking liquid on top.
Generously spoon the garlic oil and chilli sauce on top of the chicken. Add the bowl of ginger sauce to the side and finally, garnish with the coriander. Serve with a bowl of the garlic rice and enjoy.
