Hainanese chicken rice
海南鸡饭
Singapore's poached chicken with rice cooked in the chicken stock and fat, served with ginger-chilli sauce and dark soy.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 海南鸡饭.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Rest
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 hr 45 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Hainanese chicken rice is a whole chicken poached gently in water with ginger and spring onion, then plunged into iced water so the skin sets to a smooth gel. The rice is the clever part: it is fried in rendered chicken fat with garlic and ginger, then cooked in the poaching stock, so it tastes of chicken before anything touches it. Three sauces go alongside: a sharp chilli sauce built on garlic, ginger, lime and stock; a ginger and spring onion paste; and thick dark soy. A small bowl of the broth with a few slices of cucumber finishes the plate. Nothing is difficult. Everything depends on not overcooking the bird.
What you'll need
16 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Chicken
- Rice
- Chilli sauce
- To serve
Ingredients
Chicken
- Chicken, whole, fat from the cavity reserved1.6 kg
- Ginger, half sliced for the pot, half grated for the sauces80 g
- Spring onion, 4 for the pot, 2 finely chopped for the ginger sauce6
- Salt, for rubbing and seasoning30 ml
- Water3 l
- Toasted sesame oil, for brushing15 ml
Rice
- Rice, jasmine, rinsed until the water runs clear and drained400 g
- Garlic, 3 minced for the rice, 3 for the chilli sauce6 clove
- Pandan leaves, knotted (optional)2
- Neutral oil, only if the chicken gave little fat15 ml
Chilli sauce
- Fresh chilli, red, as hot as you like6
- Lime, juiced2
- Sugar4.9 ml
To serve
- Dark soy sauce, thick, to serve44 ml
- Cucumber, sliced½
- Coriander1 handful
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Rub the chicken all over with a tablespoon of salt and rinse. Stuff the cavity with the sliced ginger and 4 spring onions. Bring the water to a boil in a stockpot with a tablespoon of salt.
10 min
Step 2
Lower the chicken in breast down. Return to a boil, then drop to the lowest simmer, cover, and cook 35 minutes for a 1.6 kg bird. The water should barely tremble.
35 min
Tip: Lift the chicken out and pour the cavity water back into the pot once halfway through so the inside heats evenly.
Step 3
Lift the chicken into a big bowl of iced water for 15 minutes. Drain, pat dry, brush with sesame oil and leave on a rack. Keep the stock simmering.
20 min
Watch: Check the thigh joint with a skewer: juices must run clear. If not, return it to the hot stock for 10 minutes, off the heat.
Step 4
Render the reserved chicken fat in a pan until it gives 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry the minced garlic and a tablespoon of grated ginger 1 minute, then the drained rice for 2 minutes until the grains look glossy.
6 min
Step 5
Transfer the rice to a rice cooker or saucepan with 500 ml of the hot stock, the pandan and half a teaspoon of salt. Cook as you normally cook rice, then rest it 10 minutes.
25 min
Step 6
Blend chilli, 3 garlic cloves, a tablespoon of grated ginger, lime juice, sugar, a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons of hot stock to a loose sauce. Mix the rest of the grated ginger with the chopped spring onion, salt and a spoon of hot chicken fat or oil.
6 min
Step 7
Chop the chicken through the bone into pieces, or carve off the bone into thick slices. Plate over sliced cucumber beside a mound of rice with coriander on top. Serve the three sauces and small bowls of the hot broth alongside.
8 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 966 kcal
- Protein
- 133 g
- Carbs
- 48.4 g
- Fat
- 22.6 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.9 g
- Fibre
- 2.4 g
- Sugar
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 5389 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Soy
- Wheat
- Sesame
- Dairy-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.
Substitutions
Whole chicken → 4 bone-in chicken legs
Poach 25 minutes. Less fat for the rice, so add a spoon of oil.
Tips
- A smaller, younger chicken poaches more evenly than a large roaster. Buy 1.4 to 1.6 kg.
- Save the rest of the stock. It is the base for tomorrow's noodle soup.
- The skin should be slick and the meat near the bone faintly pink at the joint. That is correct, not raw, if the juices run clear.
History & culture
Hawker centres across Singapore serve it from mid-morning until the chicken runs out, with the birds hanging glossy in the glass. It is lunch for office workers, a Sunday family plate and the dish Singaporeans miss most abroad. Each stall is judged on the rice first and the chilli sauce second. Malaysia claims it too, and the argument is permanent.
Hainanese migrants brought Wenchang chicken, poached and served with rice cooked in its fat, to the Straits Settlements in the early twentieth century. In Singapore they adjusted the rice with garlic and pandan and added a chilli sauce with local lime. By the 1950s dedicated stalls had made it a city institution.
Traditional — Stalls hang the chicken to dry after the ice bath and brush it with sesame oil. The home version follows the same steps with a rack and a fridge.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Hainanese chicken rice take?
1 hr 45 min all in — 25 min prep, 1 hr cook, 20 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Wheat, Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free.
10 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot, Rice cooker, Blender, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 2 tbsp (for rubbing and seasoning).
How much toasted sesame oil?
1 tbsp (for brushing) of Toasted sesame oil.
How much sugar?
1 tsp of Sugar.
How much dark soy sauce?
3 tbsp (thick, to serve) of Dark soy sauce.
What can I use instead?
Whole chicken → 4 bone-in chicken legs. Poach 25 minutes. Less fat for the rice, so add a spoon of oil.
What should I watch for?
Check the thigh joint with a skewer: juices must run clear. If not, return it to the hot stock for 10 minutes, off the heat.
Any tips from this recipe?
A smaller, younger chicken poaches more evenly than a large roaster. Buy 1.4 to 1.6 kg. Save the rest of the stock. It is the base for tomorrow's noodle soup. The skin should be slick and the meat near the bone faintly pink at the joint. That is correct, not raw, if the juices run clear.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Chicken congee
鸡粥
Rice cooked past rice into a savoury porridge — ginger, shredded chicken, spring onion, white pepper.
Easy
Lu rou fan
滷肉飯
Taiwan's braised pork belly rice: finely chopped belly simmered in soy, fried shallots and five-spice until sticky, spooned over hot rice.
Easy
Khao soi
ข้าวซอย
Northern Thai curry noodles — coconut broth, boiled noodles, fried noodles on top, pickle on the side.
MediumMedium heat
Gyudon
牛丼
Thin beef and onion simmered in a sweet-soy broth, slid over rice — the chain-restaurant bowl you can make better at home.
Easy