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Malaysian Food-Chicken Rice

Ingredients: 1 big Chicken (clean and cut into 12 pcs) 600 gm long grain Rice (wash and drain) 960 ml Chicken Stock 3 nips Garlic (chopped finely) 1/2 chicken cube (optional) 2 Screwpine Leaves (knotted)(optional) 2 tbsp Chicken Lard/Oil 1 tbsp Margerine 1/4 tsp Salt

Method For the Rice: 1. Take a bit of chicken fat and extract oil. (add the fat in a wok and leave it in the fire. The oil will come out by itself) 2. Throw the fat away and leave the oil in the wok. Add in the margerine and fry the chopped garlic until fragrant. 3. Add in the drained rice and combine the rice with the garlic for 1 -2 minutes. Close fire. 4. Transfer the rice to a rice cooker. Add in the chicken stock, screwpine leaves, crumble the chicken cube and salt. Cook until rice is done. Stir with a fork. (Note: For those who do not want to use the lard, substitute with margerine) For the Chicken: Boil the chicken with water to get the chicken stock. Dish out the chicken in a bowl. Sieve the chicken stock before using. Marinate the chicken with 4 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp thick soya sauce, 2 tbsp light soya sauce, a few drops of sesame oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp sugar. Deep fry the chicken in oil or roast it in the oven (220 C for 15-20 min) (Since the chicken is already cooked fry it for 5 min only) For the Chilli Sauce: 6 -7 fresh Red Chillies 1 1/2" Ginger 1 Shallot 1/2 nip Garlic 2 tbsp Tomato Sauce 3-4 tbsp White Vinegar/ artificial vinegar 1 1/2 tsp Sugar 5 tbsp water (or more)

A few drops of Sesame Oil A pinch of Salt Grine the chillies, ginger, shallot and garlic. Mix the tomato sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, salt and sesame oil. Give it a stir. Leave the sauce to marinate for 4 hours before serving. For the Sweet Black Sauce: 4 tbsp Sweet Plum Sauce 1 tbsp Thick Soya Sauce 2 tbsp Light Soya Sauce A few drops of Sesame Oil 4 tbsp Water Combine all the ingredients and give it a stir. Leave aside. Serve the rice with fried/roasted chicken, chilli sauce, sweet black sauce, sliced cucumber and fresh salad leaves (lettuce).

2.Hainanese Chicken
This is an organic supermarket chicken (I wish we were all as lucky as Jess to be able to have fresh chicken!) Heres the deal about the chicken. You gotta buy the best. Because this Hainanese Chicken Rice dish is all about the pure taste of the chicken, you really want to go with organic. Its worth the money for your health, the environment and taste buds. When you buy a whole chicken and are cooking it skin-on, and ESPECIALLY if youre steaming or poaching the thing, you want to make sure you get the nasties off.

Im sure by looking at this photo you know what I mean. What Im after is smooth, unblemished skin. So I give my guy a facial. Yes, Im totally serious! I exfoliate my chicken. Wow, I cant believe I just confessed to you that I give my chickens a spa treatment. Please dont think Im strange! Please tell me that you do this too!?????? Start with a small handful of kosher salt. Regular table salt is too fine to use to exfoliate. Sea salt too expensive. Just use kosher salt. Oh and even if you dont have that loose skin on your chicken, it doesnt mean you dont need to exfoliate theres still hidden guck and yuck that is trapped in that chicken skin. TRUST ME. Your chicken will look and taste better this way.

Now RUB RUB RUB!! Be gone wrinkles! Be gone trapped guck! Be gone dead skin! <- yes, I know that sounded ridiculous on so many levels. Work those pores!

Rinse, pat dry and ta-da!!! Glistening. Glowing. Soft. Smooth. Taut. Chicken.

Check those lovely pores.

Season the inside and outside the chicken with salt and stuff the bird with ginger and green onions. Remember, you are not only seasoning the chicken, but also the poaching water too, so be generous with the salt. I generally double the amount of salt that I would normally use on a chicken. Ill show you how much water were adding in a sec.

Put it in a big pot and fill with water to just cover by 1 inch. Note that some of the stuffing might fall out. Which is totally okay. Dont worry.

Bring that baby to a boil and then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Youll begin to see some of that scum. Now hey, if we didnt exfoliate our chicken, I bet that scum would be a lot browner. I have a handy dandy scum skimmer. If you dont have a scum skimmer, buy one, its only $2!

After simmering on the lowest heat (just enough for little tiny bubbles to break surface) and your chicken reaches the correct temp (take the chicken temperature at the thickest part of the thigh thats not touching bone, it should read 170F). This is is done!

Prepare an ice bath and immediately lift the chicken out of the pot with 2 big slotted spoons or 2 big fat spatulas.

Heres a tip. Dont try to grab the chicken legs to pull the chicken out. Youll end up tearing the skin and heh, maybe even tearing the drumsticks outta the chicken which results in you standing there holding two drumsticks and the rest of the chicken plopping back into the boiling hot broth which then splashes back on your arms and face. Speaking from experience, of course. Oh, and dont even THINK about pouring that clean, delicious broth down the sink! Well be using that to cook the rice, prepare the sauce and to drink as soup! So, remember, gently lift the chicken out from under and try not to disturb its delicate (and exfoliated!) skin. My pot of ice water wasnt big enough, but it worked, I just turned the chicken over a few times to make sure both sides were cooled. Why are we doing this, you ask!? Ha! I thought youd never ask. Well let me tell ya. Plunging in an ice bath stops the cooking process immediately AND tightens the skin, making it springy and firm. The quality of the chicken skin is important in this dish! Its all about the skin texture.

See here? Thats your soup! Season with salt if necessary.

Hainanese Rice
I use Jasmine rice, or long grained rice. Of course, feel free to sub with whatever rice you want, but I prefer Jasmine white rice. Im using 2 cups of rice. Rinse the rice grains several times in water to get rid of excess starch and other rice cling-ons. Then let the rice soak in water for 10 minutes.

Drain the rice completely, as much as possible. Grab a pot and saute the garlic and the ginger. Mmmmcan you smell that??

Add the drained rice to the pot.

Fry the rice grains for a couple of minutesthis gives the rice SO much flavor! I like to add a bit of salt to the rice if the broth isnt already salted.

Remember that broth? Well, pour 2 cups of this into the pot. Normally when cooking rice, Id go with a ratio of 1 cup rice : 1.25 cups water/broth. But since weve already soaked the rice and the rice has absorbed some of the water, Im going with 1:1. Bring the rice to a boil, then immediately turn the heat to low, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest (still covered! no peeking!) for 5-10 more minutes. Done. Oh, if you have a rice cooker, even better! After sauteing the garlic, ginger, rice just add that into your rice cooker with the broth.

Perfect rice.

Chili Sauce for Hainanese Chicken Rice


If youre a fan of sriracha chili sauce, this will knock your socks off. Jess puts sriracha, lime, sugar, salt, couple tablespoons of that lovely chicken broth, garlic and ginger into a blender and wheeeeeee:

Voila.Jesss Hainanese Chicken Rice

Jesss Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe


While your chicken is cooking, it helps to prepare the ingredients for your chili sauce and rice. Both of these are usually assembled after the chicken is done because they require the chicken broth, but you can get started washing and soaking the rice, chopping the garlic and ginger before then. In this recipe, all of the poaching broth is reserved some is used in the rice, a small amount is used in the chili sauce, and the remainder is saved to be heated and served as a simple soup to accompany the chicken. 1 whole chicken (3.5 lbs, 1.8kg), preferably organic kosher salt 4 section of fresh ginger, in 1/4 slices 2 stalks green onions, cut into 1 sections (both the green and white parts) 1 teaspoon sesame oil FOR THE RICE 2 tablespoon chicken fat or 2 tbsp vegetable oil 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 section of ginger, finely minced 2 cups long-grain uncooked rice, washed and soaked in cool water for 10 min or longer 2 cups reserved chicken poaching broth 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt

FOR THE CHILI SAUCE 1 tablespoon lime juice 2 tablespoon reserved chicken poaching broth 2 teaspoon sugar 4 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce 4 cloves garlic 1 ginger a generous pinch of salt, to taste FOR THE TABLE 1/4 cup dark soy sauce Few sprigs cilantro 1 cucumber, thinly sliced or cut into bite-sized chunks 1. To clean the chicken, with a small handful of kosher salt, rub the chicken all over, getting rid of any loose skin and dirt. Wash and pat very dry inside and outside. Season generously with salt inside and outside. Stuff the chicken with the ginger slices and the green onion. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes more (less if youre using a smaller chicken). Check for doneness by sticking a chopstick into the flesh under the leg and see if the juices run clear or insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone. It should read 170F. 2. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Immediately transfer the chicken into a bath of ice water to cool. Dont forget to reserve the poaching broth for your rice, your sauce, and the accompanying soup. The quick cooling will stop the cooking process, keeping the meat soft and tender, and giving the skin a lovely firm texture. 3. To cook the rice: Drain the rice. In a wok or sauce pan (use a medium sauce pan if you plan on cooking the rice on the stove top), heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ginger and the garlic and fry until your kitchen smells like heaven. Be careful not to burn the aromatics! Add in your drained rice and stir to coat, cook for 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil, mix well. To make the rice on the stove: In the same sauce pan, add 2 cups of your reserved poaching broth, add salt and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit (with lid still on) for 5-10 minutes more. To cook rice in a rice cooker: Pour aromatics and rice (after frying) into your rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of your reserved poaching broth and salt. Follow the instructions for your model (usually this will just mean turn it on!) 4. While your rice is cooking, remove the chicken from the ice bath and rub the outside of the chicken with the sesame oil. Carve the chicken for serving.

5. To make the chili sauce: Blend your chili sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth and bright red. 6. To make the soup: You should have six or seven cups of the reserved poaching broth left over to serve as soup. Just before serving, heat up the soup, taste and season with salt as necessary. Serve the chicken rice with chili sauce, dark soy sauce, cucumber slices, and a bowl of hot broth garnished with cilantro or scallions.

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