January 19, 2007
Hainanese Chicken Rice - The Malaysian Version
The morning that Melting Wok posted her Hainan Chicken Rice recipe, I showed it to J and asked him if he likes to eat Chicken Rice - with roasted chicken instead of white-skinned chicken. I got a VERY enthusiastic nod and I think I caught a bit of drool from the side of his mouth.
It is a breeze to cook Hainanese Chicken rice with Prima Taste Premix, but making it from scratch is new to me so I told him “I can follow this recipe… but no guarantee ok?” When I say “no guarantee” to him, it means I may or have screwed up the recipe and the hidden connotation is “please still finish up everything.”
Since I was only cooking for two, I bought two big chicken leg quarters and halved all of Melting Wok’s recipe ingredients. The only dubious ingredient I had was thick sweet soy sauce. I knew what Melting Wok was referring to, but I just couldn’t find it in Ranch 99. I even resorted to shaking a few bottles of soy sauce to see if they had a thicker consistency than the regular dark (savory) soy sauce. In the end I went to another Asian supermarket and got a dodgy brand - I had no choice - it was the only brand sold there.
I also have a problem visualizing the ingredient measurements in ounces. What is one ounce of garlic? So I guesstimated the ingredient measurements and equated one ounce to one tablespoonful. Ha! No wonder I had to tell J “no guarantee”.
Because the chicken leg quarters were quite thick (it was from a fat lazy chicken) I made a few deep incisions on the non-skin side of each chicken leg quarter so that the marinate can seep through. The secondary purpose is that the inside of this big fat chicken leg quarter can cook faster and I won’t risk the skin burning but the inside not cooked.
Oh! I had trimmed off the fats from the chicken leg quarter, but threw them into the pan when pan-frying the chicken. I wanted to get as much oil out as possible (so sinful right?) so that I can use that to stir fry the rice with the flavoring ingredients (ginger, shallots, garlic) later. Chicken Rice is supposed to have some oil so that it’s Fragrant Chicken Rice. There isn’t such a thing as Healthy Chicken Rice. You might as well eat plain white rice.
I was very happy that the chicken skin browned very nicely. I drizzled a bit of the sauce mix (that has ginger, shallots, garlic) onto the chicken for photography purposes.
I had to add a little bit more light soy sauce to the chicken during the meal. The chicken tasted a little different from what I was used to, but on the whole it turned out fine. I didn’t make the chili sauce as I was tired after pan-frying the chicken and preparing the rice. I still said “no guarantee” to J and he still finished everything. :)
For the full Hainanese Chicken Rice Malaysian Style recipe, please refer to Melting Wok.
Bite This!
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Prima Taste Restaurant Food Review - Part 1
Prima Taste Premixes - For The Homesick Singaporean
Prima Taste Restaurant Food Review - Part 2 of 2
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January 19th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
J is a lucky man! BTW, I thought you’re not suppose to make incisions in the chicken to keep the juice from leaking out.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I had thought so too, and had ended up with undercooked chicken a few times (cos I don’t put it into the oven after searing).
This time the chicken was still very juicy despite the incisions. I think the trick is to cut it when it’s still raw, versus cut it when it is straight off the pan, just like if you cook a thick steak or pork roast, you are supposed to let the meat rest (redistribute its juices) before you cut it or the juices will flow out.
January 19th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
wahh, I still can have another 2 bowls of that, looking good :) You should cover and simmer the chicken on low heat to get your chicken moist and tender :P No lah, u want m&t, u keep a big piece, only cut after fully cooked. Btw, for the thick sweet soy, I used ABC kicap manis, very nice :)
January 20th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Have, I covered the saucepan to simmer, but in the past, I still don’t know how long to simmer cos the chicken leg quarter is really very big.
Ya.. I saw ABC kecap manis on the internet. Don’t have that here. Maybe I need to buy online.
Can ABC kicap manis also be used as a dipping sauce (like for the Singapore Hainanese (white) Chicken rice, there is usually a sweet soy sauce for dipping). Also, what is “m&t”?
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 am
When I read your post again, I realised you bake the chicken instead right ? Often times, the skin will get browned fast, leaving the meat undone. If I bake, I usually wrap them in foil, bake for 1/2 the cooking time, and then remove juices (keep them for later), and braise some of that juice (with honey/sweet soy for a nice brown skin), put them back in oven, bake the chicken (unwrap) for the rest of the cooking time/ until chicken is done. You could also make some slits on the meat (only) before marination OR just before cooking the chicken. Your chicken is going to be m&t (moist and tender on the inside) and nice, browned skin on the outside. Ok, there’s another really good sauce to eat with Hainan Chicken Rice. You use the sweet soy sauce, mix that with blended serano+/anaheim chili peppers, I personally think this is even better than the regular red chili garlic sauce. goshh..I’m hungry now :P