Our 3rd professional series recipe is a famed hawker chicken rice that has it’s roots in the legendary Chatterbox chicken rice establishment.
Sergeant Kiang was one of the original team members that worked in the Mandarin hotel kitchen team that made this signature chicken rice, and today, his children have started their own chicken rice eatery known as Jiang Ji.
In this video, Alvin, Susan and Raymond Kiang will show how to cook an authentic Hainanese chicken rice from start to end. This recipe is meant for 30 portions so adjust accordingly to your own requirements.
Make the chicken stock first. Add 5kg chicken bones and chicken feet, 400g chopped ginger, 400g garlic, 5 bundles of pandan leaves, 250g salt and 250g chicken powder in 150 litres of water. It may be hard to have a 150 litre pot so use the biggest pot and fill it full with water. Simmer for 1 hour.
To cook the rice, first add 150g cooking oil to a large rice cooker. Next add 150g sliced ginger, 350g minced garlic, 3 bundles of pandan leaves and 4 sticks of lemongrass. Fry until aromatic, then add 2.5kg of rice.
Mix well to get the rice coated with the ingredients. Add 40g of chicken powder and 40 of salt and mix well. Next, add 4.5kg of boiling hot chicken stock. Give the rice a good stir, then cover with lid for 5 minutes. Use boiling stock will ensure that the rice will cook faster.
After 5 minutes, open the lid and add 250g of shallot oil. Stir a bit, then cover for 25 minutes for the rice to fully cook. Once the rice is cooked, open the lid and give the rice a good stir. It should look fluffy as seen in the video.
To poach the chicken, dunk the whole chicken into the boiling chicken stock for a few times. Then let it poach for about 25 minutes for the chicken to be cooked. Different sized chickens may need different timings to cook.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove and dunk in a pail of water filled with 2 tbsp salt that has been dissolved. This will give the chicken skin that jelly exterior. You can also use iced water to get even more jelly texture.
Once the chicken has achieved that jelly texture, remove and hang the chicken upright to dry out the chicken. Once the chicken has dried out, it is time to chop the chicken into quarters. Follow the video to see how to do this.
First cut the chicken into halves by removing the center bone connecting to the head and neck. Then cut away the wing. Use your hands to remove the bones and cartilage at the sides of the thigh and breast. Then cut out the thigh, leg and breast as seen in the video. Repeat for both halves of one chicken to get 8 parts.
To serve, scoop a bowl of rice onto a plate. Then chop either a breast, thigh or leg into slices and place the slices on top of the rice. Add garnishes like cucumber, cherry tomatoes and parsley. In some stalls, they even add achar.
Drizzle a light sauce on top comprising of equal portions of light soya sauce and sesame oil. You may wish to add a touch of honey for some sweetness too.
And that is it! Classic and authentic Hainanese chicken rice made from start to finish.
A special thanks to Alvin, Susan and Raymond Kiang.
For more, see the full YouTube video in 4K HDR here. Be sure to subscribe and leave a like and comment.
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