Singaporean · main

Hainanese Chicken Rice (Poached Chicken with Chicken-Fat Rice)

Hainanese Chicken Rice (Poached Chicken with Chicken-Fat Rice) reads sourness 5.4, citrus 5.4 and salinity 5.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Singaporean main, about 1 hr 42 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 5.4 · Citrus 5.4 · Salinity 5.4 · Umami 4.8 · Allium 4.3 · Nutty 3.6 · Heat 3.5 · Richness 2.9 · Funk & Ferment 2.7 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Herbaceous 2.1 · Sweetness 1.6 · Floral 1.1 · Bitterness 0.7 · Earthy 0.7 · Fruity 0.5

What's in it (14)

Time & effort: about 1 hr 42 min (1 hr 27 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 32.8 kcal, 1.2 g protein, 0.8 g fat, 5.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Rub the chicken all over with the coarse salt, scrubbing the skin like you mean it, then rinse. This exfoliates the skin and gives the smooth, taut finish the dish is known for. Stuff the cavity with the sliced ginger, 4 spring onions and the pandan leaves.
  2. Bring the water to a boil in a pot just big enough to hold the bird. Lower the chicken in breast down, holding it by the neck, and let the water come back to a boil. Immediately turn the heat to its lowest setting so the water sits at 80 to 85 C, barely shivering, and poach 40 minutes for a 1.8 kg bird. Never boil: boiling tears the skin and squeezes the breast dry. The chicken is done when a skewer in the thigh joint runs clear.
  3. Lift the chicken straight into a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes. The shock stops the cooking, firms the flesh and sets the layer of jelly under the skin, which is the mark of the dish. Reserve the poaching stock.
  4. Render the reserved chicken fat in a pan over low heat for 10 minutes until you have about 3 tbsp of liquid fat and golden cracklings. Fry the crushed garlic and a little grated ginger in it for 2 minutes, then add the drained rice and stir-fry 4 minutes until every grain is coated and translucent at the edges.
  5. Transfer the rice to a rice cooker or pot, add 750 ml of the hot poaching stock and 1 tsp salt, and cook as usual for about 20 minutes, then rest 10 minutes off the heat before fluffing. The rice is not a side dish; it is half the dish, and it should taste unmistakably of chicken.
  6. For the chilli sauce, blend the chillies, the remaining garlic and ginger, the lime juice, 4 tbsp of the hot stock and the remaining salt to a loose paste. For the second sauce, mix the light soy with 2 tbsp stock and the sesame oil.
  7. Joint the cooled chicken through the bone into bite-size pieces and lay them on a plate with the cucumber. Brush lightly with some of the soy mixture. Serve with the rice, the two sauces, a bowl of the remaining hot stock with sliced spring onion floating in it, and nothing else.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.