Kevin Cooks: Hainanese Chicken Rice
My dad’s college friend’s husband worked for the U.S. embassy in Singapore.
I had never met this family before. One day, my dad told me that we were having visitors. Some Chinese woman and some caucasian man and their daughter walked into our home. My mom spent the whole day cooking to welcome them to our little home in Michigan. I had never met any of them before, nor have I heard about them. Turns out my dad doesn’t really tell me a whole lot, but he’s always been that way. My dad and his friend went to college together in Peking/Beijing University. They were in a very small graduating class that majored in Physics. He showed me a picture of less than 16 people and only two of them were women.
She met her husband, who was in the U.S. Navy, on his first assignment in China. They got married, and presently, he serves in the U.S. embassy in Singapore. Their daughter was around my age, and so we spent the night talking about her life in Singapore. I was fascinated by her stories of how their education system work, the history of their controversial leader, and the asian melting pot of this once British ruled nation-state. One thing that stuck with me was her favorite dish: chicken rice. At first, I laughed at the dish’s name (I know I’m being insensitive, but I did laugh). But she talked about the dish for so long I knew I had to try it. For years, I never had a bite of chicken rice. It haunts me. There is no chicken rice in the Midwest, or at the very least, I cannot find any place that makes it. So I decided to make it myself.
I have no idea how this compares to the real thing, but it’s pretty darn good.
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
1 ginger
3-4 green onion
Garlic
Chicken broth
Salt
Cucumbers
Chili oil
Cilantro
Dark soy sauce
Directions:
Start by putting a pot of water on high heat. Add slices of ginger and scallion to it. Prepare your chicken by patting it dry and salting it to your desire. If the chicken has extra fat, cut it up and save it. Add it carefully to the pot. Adjust your water level so that the chicken is almost submerged in the water. Once the pot starts to boil put the lid on and turn the heat to a simmer for around 30 minutes. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through at 30 minutes, and if not let it continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
I found too much water dilutes the flavor and too little left the chicken dry.
For the rice, start by frying some garlic and ginger in some oil or fat from the chicken (if you saved any). Without burning the garlic and when aromatic, turn off the heat. Wash your rice, and combine it with the fried garlic and ginger. Add chicken stock from the pot or add store bought chicken stock.
I have a rice cooker so 1 cup of rice = 1 cup of chicken broth for the ratio.
If you don’t have a rice cooker get one, cook it stove top but you’re on your own for how to do it properly. I’m pretty sure you just do the same thing, but just wait until the pot boils and simmer with a lid on it until rice cooks.
Serve with cucumbers, cilantro, chili oil, and dark soy sauce.
