Previous Story
Hainan Chicken Rice
|
Posted on Nov 25 2006
Hainan, the big island in the South China Sea, is famous for its culinary artistry. This dish confirms its reputation. Serve the rice with the sliced chicken, the sauce, and chile paste, and garnish with cilantro and chile-pepper rings.
Serves 4-6
3 1/2 lb chicken
2 garlic cloves, halved
4-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced, salt
[B] For the chicken-rice sauce: [/B] 4 tbsps dark soy sauce
6 tbsps oyster sauce
2 tbsps sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth [B]For the chicken-rice chile: [/B] 3-4 fresh red chili peppers
1/4 cup chicken broth
salt
juice of lime [B]For the chicken-rice ginger paste: [/B] 2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh ginger root
salt
4 tsps sugar
1/4 cup chicken broth [B]For the rice: [/B] 3 cups Asian long grain rice
3 tbsps oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
salt
1 pandan leaf or essence
4 1/2 cups hot chicken broth [B]For garnish: [/B] Cilantro
Red chili rings
Wash the pandan leaves and tie them into little packets. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Remove all visible fat and reserve. Lightly salt the chicken inside and out. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the garlic, half the ginger, and 1 pandan leaf. Bring 7 cups salted water to a boil with the remaining ginger, the other pandan leaf, and the chicken. Reduce the heat and simmer the chicken for 25-30 minutes. Plunge the chicken into ice water in order to stop the cooking process; remove and set aside.
Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or pot and reserve for later use.
To make the chicken-rice sauce, stir all of the ingredients together. To make the chile, halve the chile peppers lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add the chilies, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and lime juice, and puree to a fine paste in the blender.
To make the ginger paste, puree the ginger in the blender with salt, sugar, and chicken broth. To make rice, wash the rice until the water runs clear. Finely chop the reserved chicken fat.
Heat the oil and chicken fat, then sweat the garlic; pour in the rice and salt lightly. Knot the pandan leafs and add to the pot, and sauté all the ingredients for several minutes, stirring. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil reduce heat, and simmer until the rice is only just covered with liquid.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F. Remove the rice from the heat and place it in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bone and skin the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces, and briefly reheat in the remaining chicken broth 5 minutes before the rice is finished cooking.
[I]David Spitzer is the executive chef of the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan.[/I]
