Hainanese Chicken Rice

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If u are used to Chinese food from a take-out place (as I was for YEARS, this dish may be somewhat of a shock. I lived in NYC for almost a decade before I knew what GREAT Chinese-asian food was. A friend of mine (who funny enuf is Portuguese made this for me and it's been a favorite of mine ever since. If yours is bland, you're doing something wrong. This dish is deceptively simple yet has TONS of delicate flavor going on. First of all, it's NOT General Tso's chicken. Don't go into this recipe thinking it's going to be covered in a brown, soupy, rich sauce. This is a dish that, unless you are an experienced chef, you do NOT want to deviate from the recipe much. The steps seem easy and are easy to modify (or even overlook completely, but if you do you will NOT get the full effect. FRESH ingredients like ginger root, garlic, green onion, a GOOD quality chicken are all necessary. You MUST saute the aromatics just as indicated (but do NOT brown them or they will be bitter. Also, do NOT skip sauteing the rice w/the aromatics AND the sesame oil. This adds TONS of flavor. A true Singaopre chicken recipe actually calls for you to bring the chicken to a boil and then covering and removing from the heat until it's done, letting the whole chicken 'poach' in the hot liquid OFF of the heat. You MUST 'shock' the chicken in the ice-water to give the skin that 'crispy' quality. Lightly drizzle w/sesame oil to add more flavor (but don't drown it in oil!!. Sprinkle w/chopped fresh cilantro and green onion and serve sliced cucumbers on the side. This is a wonderful, light dish in warm, humid months. Delicate, yes. Bland, NEVER!!

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"red chiles" could be many things, all very different. Are we talking about like red cayenne chiles?

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With traditional Hainan Chicken & Rice, the chicken is normally bland to taste. What really livens up this dish is to accompany it with a traditional ginger,shallot, salt & oil sauce. That is where the dish comes alive.
Heat sesame oil in a wok to a high temperature and pour it over already minced garlic, shallots, and kosher salt. Stir to dissolve salt and add small ramekin to each place setting of the mixture. A small dab of this added to each bite brings the traditional flavor to life and you can imagine the east coast sea breeze of Hainan rustling through the banana trees.

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I was planning to make chicken noodle soup for my flu-addled family when I came across this recipe. I just used a standard chicken stock recipe and then followed the instructions for the rice and the sauce from this recipe. The sauce is great. The chicken is really meant to be on the bland side. It's the rice and the sauce that really makes the dish. I also added a little sugar to it to make it tangy. Yummy! And none of the chicken went to waste.

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I added mushrooms and more ginger to this. I brought it to a lua party and people raved about it, and my 12 year old even loved it. I have to confess that while tasty, I thought it was bland too.

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This recipe ended up being bland, despite the garlic and peppers. I was disappointed.