Simple Hainanese Chicken & Rice Recipe Is Singapore's National Dish by Donna John

Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix is one of my favorite shows. If you can watch Phil dance, smile and relish almost every bite he takes on the show without getting the warm fuzzies, we may need to talk. The last episode I watched Phil was in Singapore, and enjoyed Hainanese chicken and rice, which is considered one of Singapore's national dishes.

Hainanese chicken and rice is a dish of poached chicken and richly seasoned rice that's served with chili sauce and other garnishes like cucumbers. The chicken dish made my stomach growl, so after finding a restaurant not too far that served it, I had to find out how to make it at home. This chicken recipe is a more simple version than I'm sure Phil ate at the Singapore food market. This one also has a sauce you can ladle on top or serve on the side.

Photo credit: all photos under license from BigStock

This Asian-inspired chicken dinner is loaded with flavor and is not hard at all to prep or cook. Here is your shopping list: bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, salt, black pepper, jasmine rice, canola oil, green onions, fresh ginger root, fresh garlic, low-sodium soy sauce, a lime for juicing, sesame oil, fresh cucumbers and garlic chili sauce. 

Cooking Notes

• Jasmine rice is the best choice, but you could use any short-grain white rice.

• Buy the biggest chicken thighs you can find. If you can only find small ones, use six. Larger chicken thighs are easier to cut strips from and have more skin to help flavor the rice.

• If you want to leave the skin on the chicken, go for it!

• For a gluten-free dinner, use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.

• Check the chicken at the end of cooking time. If it's not at 165 degrees F, let it sit a bit longer. Do not eat undercooked chicken.

• You could serve the sauce on the side instead of pouring it over the top.

• Instead of garlic chili sauce, you could serve it with hoisin sauce or even sambal oelek.
  

Serve this Singapore staple for lunch or dinner. If you can, watch the show first so you can learn more about the country's cuisine and traditions.

Cuisine: Singapore / Malaysia / Thailand / Asian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, bone in, skin on (about 4 large)
• salt and black pepper

Rice

• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed  
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 - 5 green onions, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger root
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, to taste
• 2 cups water

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• juice from 1 lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For Serving

• cucumbers, sliced, and/or steamed bok choy
• chili garlic sauce 

Here's how to make it: 

1. Heat the oil in a skillet with a lid or a dutch oven. Add the green onions, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Remove about half to a small bowl and set aside. Add the rice to the pot and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the water and season with a little salt. 
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pot in a single layer. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. (Do not take the lid off.)
3. While the chicken sits, add the soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil to the reserved onions/ginger/garlic mixture. Stir to create the sauce. 
4. After 10 minutes, remove the chicken from the pot, then carefully remove the skin and the meat from the bones. Cut into strips. (Chicken is done at 165 degrees F internal temperature on a food thermometer.)
5. Stir the rice. Put the rice on a plate along with the chicken. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken or serve on the side. Serve with chili garlic sauce and cucumbers or bok choy.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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