By Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating
Hainanese Chicken with Rice
lightly adapted from the New York Times
Serves 4-8
1 whole (3- to 4-pound) chicken, trimmed of excess fat
Several cloves smashed garlic, plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Several slices fresh ginger, plus 1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 cup peanut oil, or neutral oil, like corn or canola
3 shallots or a small onion, roughly chopped
2 cups long-grain rice (I used an organic white basmati)
1/2 cup minced scallions
2 cucumbers, sliced (peel them if they're from the supermarket but it's not necessary if they're from a farm or garden near you)
2 tomatoes, sliced
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons rice mirin
2 teaspoons soy or tamari sauce
1. Place the chicken in a large pot along with the smashed garlic, sliced ginger and a generous pinch of salt and cover it with water – just enough to submerge it. Cover it and bring the water to a boil then turn it down to medium and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the bird in the pot for 45 minutes to an hour, covered, or until it is cooked through. I was dealing with a rather oversized beast of a bird so I just extended all the cooking times by a bit. a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Remove the chicken from the pot, leaving the stock and let the bird cool to room temperature.
2. Make the dipping sauce using 1/4 cup peanut oil, the minced ginger, half the scallions, a large pinch of salt, the soy sauce and rice mirin. Set it aside.
3. Put 1/4 cup peanut or other neutral oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the minced garlic and the shallots or onions, cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes. Add the rice (I did not wash mine and it turned out great) and cook, stirring often for 2-3 minutes. Add 4 cups of the reserved chicken stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
4. While the rice is cooking, shred or chop the chicken, discarding the skin. Mound the rice on a large platter and top with the chicken, then decorate with the cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions and cilantro. Sprinkle the sesame oil over it all and serve with the dipping sauce.
See the full post on Stir It Up!
