So hor.... everybody loves Chicken rice.... but not everybody likes to cook chicken rice. The main reason is because it involves quite a fair amount of work and you have the washing up to do after the meal. Well, if you love cooking, these are nothing.
But sometimes leh.... it is good to get down and dirty in the kitchen once a while... to prepare that one dish you love. And that was what I did today.... to prepare my own version of
Jin Jia Tok™ Hainanese Chicken Rice
The Hainanese chicken rice is sometimes also referred to as the 'Pak Cham Kai' in Cantonese. Why I choose to cook this instead of the usual roast chicken type? Well.... I feel that this is easier to cook in my small little pigeon hole. Also, I am actually a Hainam-kia suki. Yeah, my father's family originated from some Hainan province in China... so it's in my blood to cook Hainanese chicken rice.
LOL !!!!
Okay... cut the crap and straight to the main topic of the day!!
What you need lah?
For a meal to feed 2-3 adults and one toddler:
- TWO large chicken legs from AEON. Keep the skin intact.
- TWO pieces of young ginger.
- Some spring onions
- Some shallots
- Some garlic
- Taugeh (bean sprouts)
- Pandan leafs (screwpine leafs)
- Rice of any type (I am using Ecobrown unpolished brown rice)
- Ice cubes
- Cold water
- Sesame oil
- Oyster sauce
What do you do with them lah?
Firstly, wash the chicken legs clean, remove all blood related stuff. Rinse and using a paper towel, pat dry then sprinkle some salt and pepper. Leave aside.
Remove the skin of the young ginger. Keep about an inch for the rice while the rest is for the ginger dipping sauce.
In a pot big enough, boil some filtered water at high heat. Add a teaspoon of salt just for fun. When the water is bubbling at 100'Celsius, insert both chicken legs into the pot and immediately switch to low heat. Cover the pot..
IMPORTANT: Do not allow the water to boil. If you see bubbles, turn off the flame and let it sit. The idea is not to boil the chicken but just to poach it enough to cook the chicken.
Check the chicken once a while. Poke the thickest part of the chicken with some fork or chopstick. When clear chicken juice flows out, it's almost done. Remember! Never boil the chicken.
It is okay if you found out later that the chicken is not fully cooked. You can always finish up the job by steaming it or for lazy people, just microwave it. LOL...
Next...
Prepare a pot big enough to fit the chicken legs, take out the chicken legs from the pot and put it inside. Quickly, pour ice cubes on top and then cover the chicken with ice water.
This may look gross for those of you not used to these type of cooking. But this step is crucial to ensure that the chicken skin stays firm and the meat stays tender, the hallmark of a good Hainanese Chicken Rice. Put aside for 10-15 minutes and go take a toilet break.
By the way, NEVER throw away the chicken stock (the pot of water where you poached the chicken legs). You need this super power water for the other stuff.
After that, remove chicken from the ice bath and pat dry again with paper towels. Alternatively, just let it drip dry.
When it has warmed up to room temperature, use a sharp cleaver or chopping knife, cut the chicken into bite size chunks and arrange neatly on a plate. Garnish with chopped spring onions and some fried garlic...
Cucumber is optional but it's a nice add-on value meal to the chicken :D
Okay... let's move on the the rice...
Wash the rice and rinse it. Keep aside.
On a pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Stir fry coarsely chopped shallots, garlic and young ginger slices until aromatic. Add the washed rice into the pan and stir fry briskly for about 8-10 minutes.
After that, pour everything in the pan into the electric rice cooker. Add tied pandan leafs and also the stalk of two spring onions.
Do not use plain water to cook the rice!! Instead, use the chicken stock earlier. Add enough chicken stock to cook the rice (this is different from rice to rice). Sprinkle a dash of salt into the pot, cover and switch it on.
It should be cooked within 20-30 mins.
While the rice is cooking, you can prepare the ginger dipping sauce.
Using the remaining young ginger, grate them finely into a bowl. Chop 3-4 shallots finely and mix together. Add 2 teaspoon of salt too. Oh... don't forget to add a handful of chopped spring onions. Pour 4-5 tablespoons of the chicken stock into the bowl and mix them well. Taste and add stock / salt according to your own liking.
I tell you... this dipping sauce is really nice. For people who doesn't like spicy chilli, this is an excellent alternative. It goes well with the rice and chicken too!
Meanwhile, add two tablespoons of oyster sauce into a bowl, add some chicken stock and mix well. Pour on top of the chicken. Keep some for the rice too or as a dip for the cucumbers.
The last dish is the taugeh. This is the easiest to make.
Boil water in a pot. Blanch the taugeh in the pot using a metal strainer for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Remove and drain water. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Add fried garlic and spring onions. DONE!
By now, the rice should be done. It should be causing your kitchen to smell very nice too! LOL... dish out, pour some oyster sauce and serve! Since I have enough spring onions left.. I added them on top of the rice too. YUMMMY...
All these will go very well with any clear soup. For today's menu, I've prepared the pork ribs with white radish, carrots and scallops soup. DELICIOUS!
So that's all!!! It's my first attempt and I must say, I'm very proud of it.
Jin Jia Tok ah!
