Chicken rice is a traditional dish from Chinese origin, it involves poaching whole chicken skin on in flavored simmering stock, then this same densely flavored stock is used to cook rice. The rice and chicken(cut after poaching) is then served with a spicy dressing and some soup from the stock. This dish though appears to be time consuming and complicated, in fact is very quick and easy to make and very delicious to be enjoyed as a snack or main meal. Skin has fat underneath which adds more flavour to any dish as compared to chicken without skin. Please do try it and comment your final results…
Serves 4
Preparation (Mis En Place – is a French phrase which means “putting in place”, as in set up before cooking)
For Rice
3 cups uncooked washed rice
5 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
4 finely chopped shallots
2 + 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp chicken broth
4-6 blades of pandan leave (screwpine leaves)
1 small thumb of ginger, cleaned and bruised
1 tbsp of the garlic and shallot oil
70g chicken fat
Salt, to taste
For Chicken
1 whole chicken, preferably skin on
1 small thumb of ginger, cleaned and bruised
5-6 stalks of scallion, washed
4 blades of pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) (optional)
1 carrot, leeks, celery each cut into big pieces
2 tsp salt
Water
1 cucumber, peeled, halved and sliced diagonally
For Soup
2 tsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp chicken broth
3 tsp sesame oil
3 tsp garlic and shallot oil
For Chili sauce
90g fresh red chilies (you may add in some bird’s eye chili)
15g garlic
50g ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
50ml chicken broth
60ml lime juice, to taste
To garnish
few sprigs of corriander
METHOD:
For the chicken
1. Wash chicken, drain well, stuff ginger and scallion into the chicken’s
cavity. Using 2 tsp of salt as scrub, rub the salt all over the chicken
for smooth looking skin.
2. In a not too large stockpot which fits the chicken perfectly, boil the
chicken stock (enough to cover the whole chicken) together with pandan
leaves, aromatic vegetables and salt. Or hand it with “S” hook on the edge of the stock
pot.
3. Submerge the whole chicken, leg side down in the slow simmering water
for 35-45 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. Lower the heat to
gentle simmer immediately.
4. When chicken is cooked, remove chicken and plunge it into prepared ice cold
water immediately for 10 minutes. Keep the chicken broth for later use.
5. Drain the chicken, discard ginger and scallion from the cavity and set
it aside to cool before chopping it neatly into desired serving size.
For Rice
1. Heat oil in wok, fry chopped shallots and garlic till fragrant and
golden in colour. Add rice and stir well. Transfer the rice mixture to
rice cooker.
2. Once transferred, add chicken broth, pandan leaves, ginger, garlic and
shallot oil, chicken fat and salt into rice mixture. Cook in the rice
cooker.
To plate the chicken rice
1. Line a serving plate with cucumber slices.
2. Arrange chicken pieces on top, pour in the prepared sauce before
garnishing with corriander leaves.
3. Serve with chicken rice, side soup and chicken rice chili sauce.
Garnish with coriander leaves or chopped spring onions
chefprathameshkumta 