Khao man gai
ข้าวมันไก่
Poached chicken over rice cooked in chicken fat and broth with garlic and ginger, with a sharp sauce of yellow bean paste, ginger, chilli and vinegar.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: ข้าวมันไก่.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 25 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Khao man gai is Thailand's version of Hainanese chicken rice. A whole chicken is poached gently with ginger, garlic and coriander root until just cooked, then plunged into iced water so the skin goes taut. The rice is fried in rendered chicken fat with garlic and ginger and then cooked in the poaching broth with a pandan leaf, so every grain is glossy and savoury. What makes it Thai is the sauce: tao jiao, fermented yellow bean sauce, pounded with ginger, garlic, chilli, sugar, vinegar and dark soy. A small bowl of the broth with spring onion goes on the side.
What you'll need
24 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Chicken
- Rice
- Sauce
- To serve
Ingredients
Chicken
Rice
- Rice, jasmine, rinsed three times and drained well400 g
- Neutral oil, with the trimmed chicken fat30 ml
- Garlic, finely chopped4 clove
- Ginger, finely chopped15 g
- Pandan leaves, knotted2
- Chicken stock, the poaching broth600 ml
- Salt4.9 ml
Sauce
- Yellow bean sauce44 ml
- Ginger, peeled20 g
- Garlic2 clove
- Fresh chilli, bird's eye3
- Sugar15 ml
- Vinegar, white30 ml
- Dark soy sauce15 ml
To serve
- Cucumber, sliced½
- Coriander, leaves1 handful
- Spring onion, sliced, for the broth2
- White pepper, for the broth2½ ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Rub the chicken inside and out with the salt. Bring the water to the boil with the ginger, garlic and coriander roots, lower in the chicken breast-side down, and bring back to a bare simmer. Cover and cook 35 to 40 minutes with the water barely trembling, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74°C.
45 min
Tip: Do not boil it. Water at a bare tremble keeps the meat silky; a rolling boil tightens and dries it.
Step 2
Lift the chicken into a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes so the skin firms, then drain and rest it. Keep the broth simmering.
10 min
Step 3
Render the trimmed chicken fat with the oil in a saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes and discard the crisp bits. Fry the chopped garlic and ginger for 1 minute, add the rice and stir 2 minutes until every grain is coated. Add 600 ml of the hot broth, the salt and the pandan, bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes. Rest 10 minutes off the heat.
30 min
Step 4
Pound the ginger, garlic and chillies to a rough paste and stir in the yellow bean sauce, sugar, vinegar and dark soy. It should be salty, sharp and hot.
5 min
Step 5
Season the remaining broth with salt and white pepper. Bone the chicken and slice it thickly through the skin. Serve over mounds of rice with cucumber and coriander leaves, the sauce in a small dish, and a bowl of broth with spring onion on the side.
10 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 962 kcal
- Protein
- 127.5 g
- Carbs
- 51 g
- Fat
- 22.9 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.8 g
- Fibre
- 2.3 g
- Sugar
- 8.8 g
- Sodium
- 5421 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
- Dairy-free
- Nut-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 12 November.
Substitutions
Whole chicken → 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken legs
Poach them for 25 minutes and render some of their skin for the rice fat.
Yellow bean sauce → White miso loosened with a little water
Close in salt and depth but without the whole beans. Use a little less.
Tips
- The rice is the real test. If it is not glossy and savoury, the broth was too thin or the fat too little.
- Strain and freeze the leftover broth. It is the start of next week's soup.
History & culture
Khao man gai is breakfast, lunch and late-night food, sold from glass-fronted carts and shophouse stalls with the poached chickens hanging in the window. The vendor chops a portion to order and lays it over a mound of rice with cucumber and coriander. The best-known Bangkok stalls, around Pratunam, draw queues at all hours.
The dish came with Hainanese migrants who settled in Bangkok and across South-East Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, bringing the Wenchang chicken and rice of Hainan Island. In Singapore and Malaysia it became Hainanese chicken rice. In Thailand it took on the yellow bean sauce, a hotter edge, and a Thai name that simply means oily chicken rice.
Traditional — Stalls poach many birds in one big pot of broth that is topped up all day, so their rice is richer than any one-chicken home version. Adding a few wings or chicken feet to the pot helps. Vendors chop straight through the bone with a cleaver; boning the bird first is easier at home.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Khao man gai take?
1 hr 25 min all in — 25 min prep, 1 hr cook. 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. 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, Nut-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, Saucepan, Mortar and pestle, Chef's knife, Cutting board.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tbsp.
How much sugar?
1 tbsp of Sugar.
How much vinegar?
2 tbsp (white) of Vinegar.
How much dark soy sauce?
1 tbsp of Dark soy sauce.
What can I use instead?
Whole chicken → 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken legs. Poach them for 25 minutes and render some of their skin for the rice fat. Yellow bean sauce → White miso loosened with a little water. Close in salt and depth but without the whole beans. Use a little less.
Any tips from this recipe?
The rice is the real test. If it is not glossy and savoury, the broth was too thin or the fat too little. Strain and freeze the leftover broth. It is the start of next week's soup.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Strain and freeze the leftover broth. It is the start of next week's soup.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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